Arkham City
by The Night Lord
Summary: Final of the Huntress Trilogy. When the controversial Arkham City is opened, Helena Wayne soon meets her match in Prometheus, a man who wishes to destroy the virtues of justice, including Gotham City, while Cassandra learns about her past with the appearance of Lady Shiva. And if the Huntress falls in battle, who could take her place? Please R
1. New Life

AN: Okay, so I think Justice League sucked. Well, not sucked, but it wasn't the great story I was hoping for. It was a good idea, started strong, but I don't know, it kinda…failed. There were some aspects I liked, but overall, I wasn't all that happy with the result. So, that aside, let's get started on this story. I've been looking forward to writing this story and I really hope it turns out well. This is the final instalment of Helena's story. I hope you enjoy it.

-X-

_Nine years ago…_

He seemed like such a nice person, she didn't understand why her father wanted him dead. But she only did what her father told her to do and she obeyed without question. This was her first test, to put into practice all that her father had taught her. She wanted to make him proud, to prove herself to him.

"Hey there, young girl. Are you okay?" the man asked, "Are you lost?"

She understood what he was saying, despite being unable to reply apart from a simple nod of her head. The man approached her, a warm smile on his face and the young girl let him, needing to get him within range, just like her father taught her. Her hand slid subtly to the back of her teddy bear and the man knelt before her to look her in the eye.

"Shall we go and find your father?" he asked.

Returning the look, the little girl shook her head, a small shake like she had never done it before and was unsure how to do it. The man frowned and opened his mouth to say something else, but using the quick reflexes she was trained to use, the young girl drew a blade from the teddy bear and slid it straight into the man's body, right where death would be imminent. Having never done it before, she was amazed at how easily the blade slid into him and how dark his blood was, as the man gave a yelp that was a cross between surprise and pain, falling against his bookshelf as he gripped the blade, trying to tear it out. The girl was in a shock of her own, watching the man fall to the ground and succumb to death and in that moment, reading the emotions in his eyes, she came to an earth-shattering conclusion: this was not the life for her. This man had a family. He was afraid of death and he didn't want to die. He didn't want to leave his young family behind, but she had taken that away from him by carrying out her father's wishes to make him proud. She realised that she didn't want to kill people. She didn't want to take their lives away, the emotions in the dying man's eyes convincing her that she should leave this life while she can. However, she wasn't sure how, since this was the life she was brought up into, but the little girl knew somehow that she had a choice and she was making it now.

Carefully stepping around the pool of blood, the girl left the office, slowly making her way out of the building while trying to avoid people. Luckily, she was as well versed in that as she was in reading people's emotions and she was able to leave without hassle, but now the choice was being presented to her. She had to go and meet up with her father at the designated checkpoint, but she didn't have to. Instead, the girl turned the other way and started to run. She ran as far as she could before her body protested and pain ached through her, but she refused to stop. She knew her father would be mad when he found out and that's why she had to keep running, until she got as far away from him as she could. Barely anyone paid her any attention as she wore herself ragged, making her way through the streets, just another homeless orphan. The day shifted into night and again into day, time passing her by without her really noticing it and she had to steal in order to survive. Sometimes she was successful, other times she barely escaped with her life, having to rely on the skills her father taught her.

Days passed by and without a clue of where she was, the young girl, cold, tired and hungry, found herself outside the front of a large mansion, but she was too weak to knock. Content with just sleeping outside, the girl settled herself against the door and closed her eyes, as it opened and she was looking up at the face of a young, kind-looking man.

"Whoa, hello. Where did you come from?" he asked, looking around the front courtyard, before turning back to the girl, "Are you by yourself? Why don't you come in?"

He held out his hand to her, but the girl looked at it, as if afraid of it, afraid of the man.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you, trust me."

Hesitantly, the girl accepted his hand and with a warm smile, he led her into the warm mansion, where she could hear the sounds of children echoing throughout the building. Whatever this place was, it felt safe to the child, unlike her original home.

"I'm John Blake, what's your name?" he asked, crouching to her eye-level.

The girl was unable to reply, having never learnt to speak, but John thought that she was simply frightened and too scared to talk, so he smiled and rose up, taking her hand.

"Don't worry, it's okay. I understand. Just know that this place is your home."

-X-

_Now…_

"Don't lose him!" the Huntress cried, as another crook went for her and she drove her fist into his face, but this one was more resilient than the others and thus could fight back.

"I have him," Black Bat shot back, giving chase to their main target.

A man lunged out at her, intent on stopping her, but without breaking her stride, Black Bat shoved her elbow into his face, knocking him down and clearing her path. The target was racing for the docks, hoping to escape via a speedboat, but a well-timed batarang hooked him around the legs and brought him crashing down, a triumphant Black Bat pinning him down with her boot on his chest, as her adoptive siblings joined her.

"Nice work," the Huntress said, slapping handcuffs onto the perp and hauling him to his feet, "That's one more gang off the streets."

"And more criminals for Arkham City," Nightwing commented, folding his escrima sticks away and causing his older sister to make a face.

"Let's not get me started on that right now."

"Uh, if it's cool with you guys, I'd rather not go to Arkham City," the crook whined.

"You do the crime, you don't get a say in where you go," the Huntress said, "So shut up before I make you."

Black Bat watched as the Huntress manhandled the crook back to where his trussed goons were, leaving him for the police to collect and she joined Nightwing on the back of the Batpod, while the Huntress called in the Tumbler. No longer a tank-like vehicle, the Tumbler was now a custom Lamborghini Veneno, based on the one her father owned (it was one of only three in the world) and it was a beast of pure power and speed. Jet-black, with the Batman symbol in place of license plates, its body was crafted from intertrite, a compound created by Wayne Enterprises. The compound was lightweight, yet virtually indestructible and not only was it made for the Tumbler, but it was what everyone's costumes were made from, affording them great protection without sacrificing their speed and agility.

"Tumbler, set hover mode and return to the cave," the Huntress ordered.

"As you command," the computer replied.

The Tumbler hovered from the ground, the wheels turning horizontal to assist in the hover and the vehicle started off for the cave, the computer following the programmed route and leaving the Huntress to sit back and reflect without needing to drive.

A lot had changed in the past two years since the formation of the Justice League to battle the raging Doomslayer in Metropolis. For a start, there was a new mayor who had transformed the entire Narrows and the surrounding area into a city-like prison called Arkham City. The construction hadn't been without controversy, as people ranging from journalists to politicians wondered what the impact would be on ordinary civilians already living there and whether or not the mega-prison was basically a zoo for criminals. Helena had voiced her disapproval and even tried to use her influence to prevent the renovation, but Mayor Quincey Sharp had his supporters and now Arkham City was due to officially open in two days. While Helena had managed to keep Wayne Enterprises out of the prison's construction, it was a different story for Terry, utilising Lexcorp's technological prowess to assist in the prison's creation, something Helena expressed disappointment in, but her attempts to contact him usually resulted in her unable to reach him due to his repairing of Metropolis.

At least it wasn't entirely all bad. For a start, Helena's adoptive teenage sister, Cassandra, had moved to Gotham and taken up the mantle of Black Bat to help in the fight against crime. Helena's parents had sought the help of her father's friend, who was able to help Cassandra develop her speaking and reading skills. Although Cassandra could now speak properly, she sometimes muddled up certain words and meanings, often preferring to remain quiet unless necessary. Helena was happy to take her under her wing and help guide her, something that Damian also participated in, the two having their own close bond. As for Damian himself, he'd outgrown the Robin persona, believing he was too old for it and was now operating as Nightwing, utilising a suit similar to John Blake's, except with deep red markings instead of the dark blue and he also used a pair of electrified fighting sticks that were capable of combining into a telescopic bo staff. Tim and Stephanie were still Red Robin and Batgirl, with the latter forming a team known as the Birds of Prey with fellow crime-fighters Black Canary, Katana and Starling, something that often saw Stephanie travelling across the world to uphold the quest for justice.

The Tumbler pulled into the cave, going straight to its park and the Huntress hopped out with a sigh, removing her mask and looking around the cave. It too had undergone its own renovations, now resembling something that NASA would be envious about than a dank, dark subterranean cave, equipped with the latest technology. Nowadays, it was virtually a second home to Helena if she wasn't at work or patrolling the streets at night. Making her way over to the computer, Helena brought up the hologram screen that showed the usual news coverage on Arkham City's progress, along with the typical opinions from numerous public figures. All it seemed to do for Helena was cause her daily headaches, but there was nothing she could do about it. Arkham City was here to stay and that thought alone was somewhat depressing for Helena. The least she could do was keep an eye on the prison's inmates and hope that things don't go wrong like she's been expecting it.

Of course, that would never be the case.

-X-


	2. The Grand Opening

The front of Arkham City was packed with numerous journalists and ordinary citizens either curious about the massive structure or voicing their protests, while the prominent public figures, Helena included, were seated on the stage, with Mayor Quincey Sharp at the podium. He was a short, rounded man in his early fifties who had narrowly beaten the previous mayor at the poll and virtually started on constructing Arkham City right away. Helena had naturally looked in his background, knowing that he was previously the warden of Arkham Asylum, which would explain his design for Arkham City, but Helena wasn't able to find anything suspicious in his profile. Everything about him was clean-cut, but she still wondered how he managed to beat the previous mayor at the election, despite Hardy being the clear favourite.

"Ladies, gentlemen and distinguished guests, welcome to this special event," Sharp started, smiling at the cameras that was broadcasting this across America. Apparently, it was a one-of-a-kind event and therefore required national coverage. "I know that the concept of Arkham City doesn't appeal to some and this hasn't gone without its fair share of controversy, but I assure you that this is what's required for our future. I hope in time, even the most cynical would come to accept the benefits of Arkham City and what it stands for."

He said that as he glanced over at Helena, one of his more vocal disapprovers, but he quickly looked away when she caught his look, snorted and rolled her eyes. Sharp wouldn't admit it out loud, but there was something about Helena Wayne that greatly intimidated him.

"I would also like to announce that the operation of the TYGER Security Forces has already begun," Sharp continued, "TYGER is amongst the elite of security and protection, so rest assured, with these guys guarding Arkham City, Gotham City will remain safe from the criminal element. And now, onto the grand opening."

Receiving the giant scissors, Sharp made his way over to the ribbon tied across the giant iron doors of Arkham City, making sure to pose for several photos, soaking up the attention and clearly enjoying the spotlight, something that Helena detested about the man.

"I am proud to announce the opening of Arkham City!" Sharp announced to the crowd, before cutting the ribbon on the controversial event, "A place where the criminals can be left to their own devices, away from law-abiding citizens, with no-one but each other."

With the ribbon cut, Sharp shook hands with the captain of the TYGER Forces, along with other noted distinguished guests and politicians, smiling for the camera, proud of his achievement. Helena let out a huff of annoyance and got up to leave, knowing that it would be a while before she was noticed due to the attention being fixated on Mayor Sharp. Thankfully, her brother joined her as she slipped past the crowd undetected, so focused they were on the mayor and his project. That and she was skilled at avoiding crowds, no matter how public they were.

"Well, isn't this a momentous occasion," Damian smirked, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, conveying the same annoyance he held towards Arkham City that his sister had. "I'd say this calls for a celebration."

"It's too much high risk having criminals walking around free like that, even if there is a giant wall and the best security force watching over it," Helena frowned, joining her brother in the waiting limousine, where Cassandra was already seated, "All it needs is someone like Duela or Jason Todd to riot and all hell will break loose."

"Well, we can all take turns in keeping an eye on it," Damian said, "If someone even so much steps out of line, we'll swoop in and deal with them."

"Can you imagine what will happen if the Huntress or Nightwing show up in Arkham City?" Helena questioned, "Our presence might trigger a riot alone and I can't afford that."

"It was something that had to happen," Cassandra said softly, as if she was unsure of her words, "With all the criminals we were locking away, the space was needed."

"She's right. Think of all the gangs we've busted. Hell, didn't we do one last night?" Damian said, "I'm not saying that Arkham City was the right idea, but something had to be done. You, of all people, would have seen this coming."

"Maybe I did," Helena replied, looking out at the city as they passed it by, "But it's here now, so we'll do what you suggest. We'll keep an eye on it. Perhaps we can get the Birds of Prey, if they're not too busy."

Damian nodded and leaned back against the seat, staring out at Gotham City, the air heavy with the thoughts of Arkham City, all three Wayne siblings unsure of what this meant. The limousine pulled up at Wayne Enterprises so Helena could leave, before heading to the New Wayne Mansion with Damian and Cassandra. With a slight sigh, Helena entered the premises, making her way to the R&D department to see if any improvements could be made to her suit, only to find a new 'toy' had arrived for her. The crate, bearing the Lexcorp symbol, could only be opened by fingerprint, specifically hers and with a small smile, Helena read the note Terry had left her, then applied her finger to the scanner. The crate opened with a hiss, as a pre-recorded hologram of Terry appeared beside her, peering into the crate at the items lying within.

"Unfortunately, I am busy with the repairs of Metropolis to be able to meet you in person, so I hope this will suffice for now," Terry said, "But just because I am busy doesn't mean I can't make a gift for my dear friend."

Helena removed the deep purple, slimline chest-plate from the crate and looked it over. There were shoulder-pads and a flowing black cape attached to the chest-plate, with her symbol on the front and centre, while grooves were etched into the back. The straps were positioned so they wouldn't cause any discomfort or restrict movement, as Helena retrieved a pair of leather, armoured gloves from the crate.

"In case you were wondering, it is a set of glider wings for you," Terry said, "It appears as your standard cape, flowing and malleable, but activate the switch within the gloves and the cape becomes a pair of wings, with a jetpack that grants you limited flight capabilities. Considering I made one for Tim and myself, I figured you might want one yourself."

"It's beautiful, Terry," Helena said, "Thank you. Now, if only you could tell me why you helped out with building Arkham City."

"I figured you would ask, so I recorded my answer for you," Terry replied, "I believed the super prison was necessary for the influx of criminals, most of whom have come to Gotham from Metropolis following Doomslayer's rampage that destroyed many homes and businesses, as you know. Also, with the number of major criminals like Duela Dent, Jason Todd and the Ventriloquist, something was needed to accommodate them."

"You helped turf a lot of people out from their homes, even if they were compensated for their loss," Helena said, "You may have caused more problems than you've solved."

Terry's hologram looked regretful, "Yes, I know. I wish things could've been different, but at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Well, thanks for the gift. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a super prison to watch over," Helena said dismissively, "Have a nice day, Terry."

-X-

_Sea of Japan…_

The U.S.S _Ursa Major_ was a mighty nuclear-powered aircraft carrier holding forty Phoenix VTOLs, twenty Eagle assault helicopters and manned by over three thousand personal. Residing in the Sea of Japan to assist in any complications that could stem from North Korea, the _Ursa Major_ was quite an intimidating sight to behold. However, even though it was equipped with the latest in combat and surveillance technology, it was possible for the aircraft carrier to fall prey to anyone who knew how to bypass its radar. Or in this case, twenty boats that were silently approaching the Ursa Major from all sides. Clad completely in black, the occupants were practically invisible against the dark waters, some of them using silenced sniper rifles equipped with thermal vision to take out any patrolling personal from the top deck, while EMP disrupters were utilised, neutralising all communications on the _Ursa Major_ allowing them to board the mighty aircraft carrier in silence. The system computers on board the aircraft carrier were being hacked so that the crew on board didn't know they were being attacked until it was too late and they wouldn't be able to call for help. One of these silent mercenaries stood tall over the others and was adorned in full body armour that was military grade, a utility belt full of numerous weapons and gadgets around his waist, while a long flowing black cape hung from his shoulders. He concealed his identity with a helmet that contained a small computer, which was also connected to his brain waves, allowing him to access the computer via mental control, as well as receive information from the computer. Striding aboard the _Ursa Major_, he instantly made his way towards the control deck joined by a few armed mercenaries, the battle raging on below deck for control of the ship.

Reaching the control deck, the armoured person threw out a flash grenade that blinded everyone but himself and he moved swiftly through the soldiers, taking them out with brutal, yet effective moves, leaving broken bodies in his wake. With his job done, he left the control to his cronies, then entered below deck to assist in the fight. The sudden attack took the soldiers by surprise and therefore they were ill-prepared for a counter-defence, falling victim to the mercenaries' weapons and the shadowy warriors swept throughout the ship like a plague, killing anyone in their way. In the case of the armoured fighter, he left broken and dead bodies behind him, fighting like he was born for it, able to predict his opponents' movements before they did, then once he was satisfied with the takeover, he returned to the control deck, where the mercenaries were awaiting his orders.

"The ship is ours. What now?" an assassin asked.

"Set a course for Gotham City," came the reply.

"May I ask why?"

"The laws of justice are shackles to those who are trying to live, no matter what they need to do to survive," Prometheus said, "And Gotham City is a beacon of justice. Set the course."

"Sir, another ship is attempting contact with us," said another mercenary.

"Tell them we have received orders that require us to leave," Prometheus replied, "If they take issue with it, tell them to take it up with the President."

The mercenary nodded and set off to carry the order out, as the _Ursa Major_ changed her course.

-X-

AN: If anyone is wondering how Prometheus looks in this story, I'm basing it on the character Wrath from the latest Detective Comics, considering Wrath is being promoted as the Anti-Batman, which is what Prometheus is basically like.


	3. Fight to the Death

"Criminal activity is down," Damian said, "Ever since Arkham City opened, no one wants to end up there."

Helena said nothing, having already noticed this and kept staring out the window at Gotham before her. They were in her office at Wayne Enterprises, with Damian having dropped by on his way home from college. The sun was setting, casting a glow upon the city that made it look quite beautiful to Helena. She let out a soft sigh, her mind and body tired from the busy day, which had been repeating itself for the past few weeks, but she figured it wasn't just work that was running her ragged. Her nightly patrols as the Huntress and the constant worry about Arkham City were also contributing factors. But she had noticed that during the past three nights since Arkham City opened, she was encountering less and less criminals; and she wasn't the only one. She figured that an open air prison would sound appealing to the criminals, but it turned out it wasn't the case. More like it was the opposite and it had gotten to an extent that Helena was questioning the point of her patrols. It was almost like Arkham City had achieved what she'd always hoped for: a city without crime. Perhaps Quincey Sharp had the right idea all along.

"It makes me wonder if there is a need for the Huntress," Helena said to herself, but her brother heard her.

"Come on, Hel, don't think like that. You know it's not true," Damian said, "There is always a need for the Huntress, like with the Justice League for example. There will always be people who need our help, not just criminals who need beating up. Dad taught us this."

"Since when you do always try to cheer me up?" Helena frowned, even though she secretly appreciated his attempt at making her feel better.

Damian shrugged, "I figured I'd do it before breaking the bad news to you."

Helena's eyes narrowed, "Spit it out."

"Well, you know how Arkham City is supposed to be inescapable? One person has already escaped. The authorities are keeping it quiet so the civilians don't get alarmed."

"Okay, how did you find out and who is it?"

She was worried that Duela had escaped, which would spark off another hunt for the deranged sociopath. She was thankful that Duela had been previously captured without any lives lost and she hoped to do the same again if it indeed was Duela.

"Authorities aren't exactly quiet when you eavesdrop on them," Damian said, "And it's Jason Todd."

Helena went straight to her desk, inputting the code into her computer that allowed her access to Arkham City's surveillance, most of which had been provided by Wayne Enterprises for moments like this; and she began checking out the areas where Jason Todd frequently visited. She didn't doubt her brother, but she wanted to make sure and after being unable to find the former Robin, she decided to go to Arkham City and search for herself. Having originally been sent to Blackgate Penitentiary for his crimes, Jason had been recently sent to Arkham Asylum following the deaths of at least eighty criminals in suspicious circumstances and he had been one of the first inmates of Arkham City. If he had indeed escaped the super prison, Helena knew it was only a matter of time before he sought her out, no doubt looking to settle the score. That, or he would resume his merciless slaughtering of criminals, something that Helena couldn't allow to happen.

"You know he'll be pissed at how you kicked his ass," Damian said, "Which was quite awesome actually."

"Priorities, Damian," Helena said, "You and Tim are on patrol tonight. I'm going to Arkham City to see just how Jason escaped."

"You know, I can help-"

"No. Let me handle this. Whatever reason Jason has escaped for, it's between me and him."

"Okay then. You're calling the shots."

-X-

Arkham City was calm and quiet, the criminals keeping to themselves, as the Huntress watched over them from the rooftops. Each resident had their own space, but she knew it was only a matter of time before someone grew greedy and spark off a turf war, regardless of the TYGER Forces. Speaking of which, she looked into their history, noting that they were very good at their job, possibly the best in the world, so she knew that Arkham City was at in least in some good hands. Gliding between the rooftops, the Huntress made her way over to where Jason Todd was last spotted, often passing over groups of crooks who'd see her and start to panic, worried she was going to swoop down and deliver her brand of justice.

This was what she didn't like about Arkham City, the whole freedom that the criminals had. Apparently, they were allowed to do what they pleased, as long as they didn't try to escape, hence the presence of TYGER. Clearly, they failed in preventing Jason Todd from escaping, but since he had similar training to Helena, it wasn't that much of a surprise.

Jason apparently preferred the better part of the Narrows near Arkham Asylum, so the Huntress arrived there, ignoring the crooks panicking nearby and started to look around for anything that would help her in finding the Red Hood. However, before she could even start, she was interrupted by the crooks trying their chance, replacing their fear with anger and without looking, Huntress struck down the first of the criminals, then turned around to face the rest of the group.

"Anyone else feeling brave?"

The crooks looked amongst themselves, before two charged at the Huntress, while others picked up makeshift weapons, trying to give themselves an advantage. With a slightly amused smile, the Huntress lunged at the charging criminals and grabbing them both into a chokehold, slamming them to the ground. Another crook swung a length of rusted steel pipe at the Huntress' head, but she caught the pipe, booted the crook in the stomach, then reversed his attack, striking him with the pipe. She turned to face another incoming criminal, but something suddenly swooped in and took him down, allowing the Huntress to parry a criminal's attack, her elbow slamming into his jaw. She followed up with a sweep of her leg, face-planting the criminal into the hard ground and with the fight done, she turned back to the new arrival.

"Thought you could use a hand," Red Robin smirked.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but what are you doing here?" the Huntress asked.

Like the others, Red Robin's suit was made from the indestructible inertrite material, while his cape was made in the shape of feathered wings. A jetpack was built into the cape and when activated, it caused the cape to become a pair of glider wings, allowing Red Robin some measure of flight.

"Nightwing told me about the Red Hood escaping, so I thought I'd give you a hand looking for him," Red Robin explained, "If you don't mind that is."

"No, I don't mind," Huntress replied, "The sooner we find him, the better."

-X-

Cassandra sat on the edge of a building rooftop, wearing her Black Bat suit but held her mask in her hand as she watched the pedestrians below. Since being taken in by the Wayne family, she had slowly learnt to leave her old life behind and began embracing her new one, even learning how to speak and soaked up the love she received from her adoptive family, but she knew there were some things that were difficult to leave behind. Notably her murder of a businessman when she was only seven years old, a memory that tormented her incessantly. She wished she could change it, hoping that by sending criminals to prison, she could redeem herself for the atrocious act, but no matter what, there was still a hollow part in her chest. Not even her new family knew what she'd done and Cassandra wanted to keep it that way. If she could help it, she would take that secret with her to the grave-

"It's a lovely night, isn't it?"

Cassandra hurriedly put her mask on, then whirled around to face the newcomer. She was a middle-aged woman of Asian descent, her hair black and cut short to just above her shoulders. She wore clothing of Chinese influence, adorned in a deep red kung fu top with gold embroidery, black pants with dark dragon imagery, a long black coat, with a pair of leather gloves and knee-high boots completing her look.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Black Bat demanded, "How did you find me?"

"My name is Lady Shiva," the mysterious woman replied, "I was sent here to kill you. As for finding you, well, it's in my job description."

Black Bat flung out a batarang, using the distraction to close the distance, her fist snapping out towards Lady Shiva's face. Reacting with reflexes that surprised the young crime-fighter, Lady Shiva easily deflected Black Bat's punch, the side of her other hand slapping against Cassandra's neck. The blow caused stars to burst in front of her eyes, but she tried a counter-attack, going on the offensive, until Lady Shiva caught her in the ribs with her fist, then struck her across the face. Black Bat staggered, her mind reeling with the prospect that she was out of her league. Due to her training, she was one of the best fighters around, with only Helena, Terry and Damian being her superiors, but this woman was clearly something else, the way she was able to read Cassandra's movements and accurately predict her next attack. Yet, it was also a reminder of how Cassandra used to be able to do just that, until her adoptive father sought out a friend to 'reprogram' Cassandra's brain so she could talk, losing the ability to read her opponent. A costly mistake, looking back now, as Black Bat fought a losing battle, pain swimming through her body from the blows that barely touched her, but obviously Lady Shiva knew where to strike to cause the most pain.

After parrying Black Bat's fist, Lady Shiva apparently decided to end the fight and upon dislocating Black Bat's arm, she struck, the tip of her fingers out straight like a knife and slamming upon Black Bat's heart, causing it to stop. Black Bat gasped, falling to her knees as darkness swarmed before her eyes and she felt death's cold grip, falling over into the black void following one last look of surprise at her murderer.

-X-


	4. Revival

Her heart pumped to life and air filled her lungs, as Black Bat opened her eyes, sucking in a lungful of much needed air, even though it caused her body to protest in pain. She felt numb, her body aching, but at least she was alive. Frowning at this, Black Bat caught sight of Lady Shiva nearby, who was looking at her as if she was studying an insect.

"You…killed me…yet…I'm alive…why?" Black Bat questioned.

"Normally when I kill someone, they protest and they beg. They try fighting for their lives rather than succumb to death. You, on the other hand, you wanted to die. I read it in your eyes, the way you embraced it. Even though you were surprised, you still welcomed it."

"So you revived me? Why?" the young crime-fighter asked, strength slowly returning to her.

"I recognised something in you. You have the potential to become truly great and I couldn't let that go to waste. You have further training to accomplish and when you do, we will have a rematch," Lady Shiva explained, "A true fight to the death."

She turned to leave.

"Who are you?" Black Bat asked, blood trickling from her nose, "Really?"

"Someone you were born to defeat," Lady Shiva replied without turning around.

"I failed there."

"One year. And when we meet again, only one of us will walk away."

Using whatever strength she had, Cassandra looked up and found that she was alone. It took her another hour before she had the strength to get to her feet and that hadn't been without agony. Once she was on her feet and managed to stay steady, Cassandra thought over Lady Shiva's words, reluctantly seeing some truth in the assassin's words and with a pain-inducing limp, the young crime-fighter made her way towards home.

-X-

Damian leaned against the computer, wearing his Nightwing outfit minus his mask, his arms crossed over his chest as he patiently waited. The manor they lived in had its own cave, built with some help from Superman and Green Lantern and like the main cave, this one was outfitted with the latest technology and was mainly used as a back-up, with its own suits, weapons and vehicles. Damian didn't have to wait long, as the Tumbler came racing into view, slowly coming to a stop, as the Huntress and Red Robin got out.

"Have any luck in finding him?" Damian called out.

"No," Huntress replied, "No one would talk and-"

"So how come you let Tim help you look, but not me? I mean, I'm your brother."

"Uh-oh," Tim muttered.

"Because I know if we found Jason, Tim would leave when I tell him to. You, on the other hand, would stay behind and try to fight him," Helena stated.

"I'm twenty-two, not twelve. You don't have to be protecting me all the time. I can take care of myself."

"Hardened thugs aren't anything compared to Jason. He's one of the best-"

"Whatever," Damian interrupted, "If you can't trust me to fight alongside you, then there's no need for me to be wearing this suit."

"Damian, wait, it's not like that," Helena called after her brother's retreating back, but he was already gone and she glanced at Tim, "Do you think I did the right thing?"

"Hey, whoa, not my expertise," Tim said, putting his hands up, "I just beat up the bad guys. But that said, I think you should step back a bit."

"I know. Jason is no laughing matter – no, you're right. I should back off. But he's impulsive, always jumping in head first without thinking of the consequences. I can't help but constantly watch out for him."

"You care. That's all it is. Give him time, Helena, and he'll get over it."

Simply nodding in reply, Helena changed out of her suit and made her way upstairs, where she found Cassandra in the main living room, gazing into the empty fireplace. Concerned, Helena joined her adopted sister on the couch, giving her a small nudge to let her know about her presence.

"What's on your mind, Cass?" Helena asked.

Sighing heavily, Cassandra looked at her hands, trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind, before turning back to the fireplace, her stormy thoughts preventing her from looking her sister in the face.

"I died earlier tonight," Cassandra admitted so softly that Helena only just caught it.

"What?! What happened?" the elder sibling demanded, thoughts racing through her mind over the statement. She had been so worried about losing one sibling that she had nearly lost another instead, "Who was it that…defeated you?"

"Her name is Lady Shiva. She defeated me in combat and temporarily stopped my heart. She only revived me because she believed I was holding back."

"And were you?" Helena pressed gently, while looking her sister over for injuries.

Cassandra sighed and closed her eyes, "It wasn't that I held back. It is the fact that I wished for death. I welcomed it."

"Cass, what are you saying? Are you okay? Speak to me."

Another sigh, "When I was young, I murdered a man. That is how I ended up at the orphanage in the first place. I was running away from my father, who made me kill the man. At the time, killing was all I knew, but when I actually killed someone for the first time, I realised that I didn't want that life. So I ran. Every night when I sleep, I see his dying face in my dreams and I try so hard to make up for it, but it'll never leave me alone. I felt that death was the only escape, but-"

"Stop. Just stop. I don't want to hear any more," Helena said, pulling Cassandra into her arms, "If it means anything, I forgive you for what you did. Father told me what happened to you as a child. It's not your fault, Cass. These thoughts of wanting to die, I'd like them to stop. You have a new life and a family that loves you. I love you, little sister."

Cassandra folded up into Helena's body, the overwhelming emotions spilling out in the form of tears and Helena held her close, allowing her to cry into her side as she stroked her sister's hair, whispering soothing words to her. Cassandra had never been one for crying, often keeping her emotions deeply buried, but the toll of tonight was crashing down upon her and so she sought comfort in Helena's arms. After a while, her tears slowly ebbed into sobs and finally hiccups, as she reluctantly drew back from her sister.

"Feeling better?" Helena asked, rubbing Cassandra's back.

"Yes, thank you," Cassandra replied, a thoughtful look passing over her, "Helena, Lady Shiva said that I was born to stop her. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, but perhaps Dad might. He does background checks on everyone and if he can't find something on them, he'll find something eventually. You should ask him."

"I'll do that. Tomorrow. I'm tired, so good night, Helena."

Helena watched her leave with a worried look, then decided to retire to her own room, which would be a different change from spending the night in the Batcave.

-X-

Slamming another magazine into the gun, the crook used it to scan the rooftops while slowly making his way out of the alley and towards the brightly lit streets. He hoped that out there he could stand a better chance of escaping his pursuers, as there was a flash of steel and his gun clattered to the ground in two pieces. Understandably freaked, the crook raced for the streets, but someone landed in front of him and slammed her palm into his chest, dropping him flat on his back. Refusing to be deterred, the crook scrambled to his feet and lashed out with his fist, but his blow was stopped and his head snapped back from the punch to his jaw, as steel touched his shoulder. Swallowing hard, the crook glanced back, seeing the swords owner, as two more women materialised out of the darkness, one of them wielding twin handguns.

"I think at this point, surrendering is your best option," Batgirl smirked, hands on her hips, "There's nowhere else for you to go, except to jail."

The crook held up his hands in surrender and Black Canary strode forth to cuff them behind his back, escorting the crook away with Katana and Starling by her side, as Batgirl watched them and was about to join them, but a voice stopped her.

"Welcome back to Gotham."

Batgirl turned around to see the Huntress standing before her. Having been unable to sleep due to her busy mind constantly fretting about work, Jason and Arkham City, Helena had decided that another patrol around Gotham might help ease her mind.

"Yeah, well after busting an international crime ring and wrapping loose ends, I thought I'd come home," Batgirl said, "That and one of our perps came here to escape, which is stupid, because who comes to Gotham City to escape authority?"

"The Birds of Prey working out like you hoped?" Huntress asked.

"Better than I expected. As much as I love Gotham and fighting crime, I think I've found my true calling with these girls. Plus, I get to travel the world."

"I'm glad my money is being put to good use then. So, you staying for a while?"

"Until the next mission. I'm sure Tim's missing me. I miss him too."

Huntress smiled, "He pines for you so bad, it's almost cute."

"So, uh, I heard about this Arkham City. I can't believe it's really happened."

"Neither can I, but there's not much we can do about it. If you don't mind, I appreciate you and the Birds to help keep an eye on it. At least until your next mission."

"Sure, I won't say no," Batgirl replied, "I could use a break from chasing after black market operatives into deep jungles and the like."

"Excellent. So what do you say we do a patrol around the city? Just for old time's sake?"

Batgirl returned the smile, "I'd be delighted to."

-X-


	5. The End Begins

The police station was humming with conversations, mostly about Arkham City, with officers expressing their concerns to each other. The super-prison had been quite the buzz since it was first rumoured and the avalanche of conversations continued to grow, despite the prison's opening. Deputy Commissioner Foley stood near the bullpen, coffee in hand as he overheard some of the talk, his thoughts being echoed amongst the officers. The idea of prisoners being given free rein to do whatever they like was something that didn't sit well with Foley, even if the prisoners were being watched over by the most elite militaristic security force in the world. Arkham City had the potential to go terribly wrong and Foley wondered what exactly was going through the mayor's head when he thought of this plan. But whatever the case, Arkham City seemed to be a deterrent to criminals, as the crime rate had been steadily declining over past few days to the point that all the police seemed to do was mundane tasks and filing paperwork. The most excitement Foley had seen recently was a domestic violence incident and a drunk and disorderly case. Nothing more. In fact, he was going to kill some time by going out on patrol, just to see if there was anything that required his assistance.

"Alright, I'm heading out," Foley reported to Commissioner Yindel, "Call me if anything comes up."

"Don't hold your breath," Yindel replied without looking up from her tablet of files.

Foley weaved his way through the packed bullpen and left the station, passing an entering patrol car. He didn't give the other car much thought; glancing at the vehicle number briefly, but it wasn't until he arrived at the nearest set of traffic lights that he really thought about the number, wondering who had been on patrol. Then Foley realised that no-one had been on patrol and the vehicle number wasn't one he knew and he knew all the vehicle numbers. When the light turned green, Foley did a U-turn, much to the chagrin of nearby drivers, but he was in a hurry, racing back to the station, just as an explosion tore through the building and engulfed it in flames. Foley screeched to a stop and got out of the car, disbelief on his face as he watched the police station burn and slowly crumble. He immediately thought to run inside and see if anyone was alive, but he knew that it would be suicide, not to mention that with the severity of the blast, it was most likely that everyone inside were dead.

By now every pedestrian had stopped to watch the blazing inferno, all with horrified expressions on their faces, unable to believe they were really seeing the police station burn to the ground, as Foley called in other emergency services, while keeping an ear out for any officers from the other precincts and what he was hearing didn't sound good at all. Throughout Gotham City, police stations were being destroyed in simultaneous explosions, with multiple loss of life and only a handful of survivors. Whoever was attacking them was wiping them out in one fell swoop, as Foley watched the fire-fighters attempt to put out the blaze. He was still in a state of shock, his body going through the motions of what he'd been taught for emergency situations, but his mind was far away, still processing that the police were under attack and trying to figure out who would plan such an attack.

-X-

"Come in," Helena called, still staring at the tablet's hologram screen.

"Miss. Wayne, there's a visitor here for you," her secretary announced.

"If they don't have an appointment, tell them to make one and come back then," Helena said, "I'm in the middle of something."

"He's rather insistent."

"And I'm rather busy-"

"Excuse me," came the new voice.

Helena looked up to see Terry standing in her office, hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face. With a sigh, Helena waved off the secretary, who left, then resumed her work, as Terry slowly approached her desk, unsure of himself all of a sudden.

"So," he began, "How have you been?"

"Fine," Helena replied shortly, "What brings you back to Gotham?"

"I finally caught a break and decided to drop by," Terry replied, "I wanted to see if you got my gift and talk to you about Arkham City."

"What can you tell me that your message already didn't?"

"Well, for starters-"

Just then, Helena's secretary burst into the office, a harried look on her face.

"The police stations around Gotham have all been destroyed," she cried, "It's all over the news. I couldn't believe it when I heard it, but I thought I should tell you."

Helena and Terry shared a look, the former bringing up the news screen on the hologram, where sure enough the breaking news report was on the police stations all simultaneously exploding, apparently from within, killing many officers and leaving only a few lucky survivors. So far, only Deputy Commissioner Foley could be accounted for.

"Who would have done such a thing?" Helena wondered.

"Not a single idea," Terry replied, "No one comes to mind on who could've planned it."

Helena's thoughts immediately went to Jason, but if anything, she knew the Red Hood wouldn't go after authority figures…unless he was changing his tactics and this was his way of getting her attention.

"Well, let's hope the Huntress finds them," Helena said, giving Terry a knowing look behind her secretary's back.

He caught it and gave an understanding nod, "That's ruined our meeting. This time, however, I'll schedule a meeting with you for a later date."

Once he had done that with the shocked secretary, he left Wayne Enterprises, as Helena returned to her office, giving her secretary a notice that she was not to be disturbed, then opened a secret panel in her office to reveal her Huntress outfit.

-X-

Foley could only sit back and watch as the flames slowly died, the police station completely gutted and half-demolished, as fire-fighters entered the ruins in search for survivors, although their hopes weren't that high. He was still lost in his thoughts, trying to figure who could responsible for the attack, when he heard the roar of a powerful engine and looked up to see the Tumbler pull up by the sidewalk, Batman and the Huntress getting out of the vehicle. Almost immediately, reporters and their camera crews attempted to ask the two superheros about their thoughts on the bombings, but with the click of a button, Batman activated an EMP burst that neutralised all recording devices in the vicinity, allowing them clear passage.

"Who would have done such a thing?" Huntress wondered.

"That's what we're hopefully going to find out," Batman replied.

Using the computerised contact lenses (that contained some Kryptonian technology, courtesy of Superman), Batman start scanning the ruins, using the x-ray vision to search underground for any clues, while the Huntress aided him, before going over to Foley.

"What happened?" she asked, "Do you have any idea who could have done this?"

"It was a car bomb," Foley replied, although it was more to himself than the Huntress, "I passed the car when I left the station. If I had realised it was a fake, this wouldn't have happened."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, officer, it's not your fault," Huntress said, "Are there any enemies you can think of who would be able to carry this out? Apart from the obvious?"

Foley shook his head, "No, no one. Then again, there are a lot of people out there who would love to see the police burn to the ground, so it's hard to really say."

Huntress thought to herself and joined Batman by the ruins, just as he finishing up and was now looking around for any bits of evidence he might have missed initially.

"Any thoughts?" Huntress asked.

"It was more than one bomb," Batman replied, "In order to cause this much damage with a high level of casualties, there were bombs within the station. The bomber chose the early morning in order to get this many deaths at once, which speaks volumes about the bomber's state of mind. They are clearly someone who despises authority."

"Yeah, well, whatever's going on, this is only just the start," Huntress said, "Someone is planning something big, something very big if they've started out by killing many police officers. Just think what's going to happen once everyone learns that there is no longer a police force in Gotham City."

"For me, there's one person in mind who could do this," Batman said, "Are you up for visiting an old friend?"

-X-

The eastern end of the Narrows already had been given a makeover to reflect the nature of the madwoman who 'owned' the territory. Insane and murderous clown graffiti littered the walls, coloured balloons dangled from fences and numerous criminals who had pledged allegiance stood guard, their faces painted with clown make-up. Despite the number of these goons, they were no match for the pair of crime-fighters who swept through them, leaving them scattered and unconscious. Dropping down in front of the apartment block that had a giant 'WELCOME' sign painted in neon colours above the door, Batman and the Huntress glanced at each other, before entering the run-down building. Criminal guards tried to stop them, but they were no match for the pair as they cut them down, heading upstairs. Reaching the top floor, Batman and the Huntress took down the last of the crooks, as the former then kicked the most colourfully painted door open and the latter strode into the apartment, crossbow out in front.

"Why, hello. It's been a while," Duela smirked, before slowly turning around, "A long time since someone's come to visit me. But before we can talk, say hi to my friend."

Batman suddenly went flying and the Huntress whirled around, as a giant clown swung a sledgehammer at her head.

-X-


	6. Meet Prometheus

AN: So, who's heard the news? About Superman and Batman teaming up in the next _Man of Steel_ movie? I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope they choose a good actor for Batman, because as much as I would love for Christian Bale to return, I know it's not going to happen. With that said, let's get on with the story.

-X-

Seven feet tall. Nearly three hundred pounds of pure muscle. Clown make-up and tattooed body. Sledgehammer swinging for her head.

The Huntress threw herself backwards to avoid the hammer and fired her crossbow, the arrow piercing the giant in the abdomen, but he barely flinched, much less notice that he'd been shot and he pressed his assault as if there wasn't an arrow stuck in his body. The Huntress scrambled away in time when the hammer struck the ground and she got to her feet, just as Duela leapt onto her back, giggling madly and the Huntress struggled to throw her off, as the brute came at her again. This time, Batman shot the brute through the forearm with a grappling gun and yanked him off balance, then proceeded to hammer rapid blows to the brute's torso. Huntress grabbed hold of Duela's arm and flung her aside, shooting an arrow at her, but Duela darted out of the way and flicked out a knife. Batman dodged the sledgehammer and kicked the brute in the shin, dropping him to his knees, then performed a back-flip kick that threw the brute onto his back. Before the monstrous thug could get up, Batman placed a small device onto his chest, sending pulses of electricity through his body to keep him immobile, as the Huntress twisted Duela's arm behind her back and threw her down. Disarmed, the madwoman chuckled, even though she had Batman and the Huntress standing before her, the latter aiming her crossbow.

"Would you like some coffee?" Duela asked, slowly getting to her feet, "Tea, perhaps?"

"We want some answers," Batman said, "Today, every police station in Gotham were attacked, resulting in massive loss of life. You know anything about it?"

"Me? I was here the whole time," the Joker's daughter replied, licking her lips, "If anything, I'm annoyed that someone had a party and forgot to invite me."

"People died! Families have lost their loved one!" Huntress growled, stepping closer to Duela, the arrow aimed at her throat, "If you're playing a game, I suggest you stop and start answering our questions."

"Heh, since when I do ever indulge you goody goody two-shoes and answer your questions?"

Duela gagged when the Huntress grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

"A little touchy there, Huntress?" Duela smirked with what little air she could suck into her lungs, "Okay, I can tell you now, from the bottom of my heart, I have nothing to do with the police dying. I wish I did, but I don't."

The Huntress drew back her fist in anger, but the clown kept smiling and after a second thought, Helena lowered her fist. But then she quickly thought better of it and slugged Duela in the face, letting her fall to her hands and knees.

"Oh, how I've missed you, Huntress," Duela said, "I wanted to see you when I was in Central City, but I had to deal with Batboy here instead. Glad we could finally have our reunion."

"She knows nothing," Batman said, "She's wasting our time."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe there's a new player in town?" Duela suggested, "People die and everyone assumes that it was me. I'm touched by the thought, but not every death should be linked to me. Just the ones that I've actually done."

"Shut up," Huntress growled.

"She might actually be right," Batman said.

"See, he agrees with me," Duela protested to the Huntress.

"Shut up," was his reply, "Come on, Huntress, let's leave the scum where they belong and look for the real perpetrator."

"Do come around another time," Duela called after their retreating backs, "We have such lovely fun together. Don't be strangers now."

-X-

The crook was hanging around by the dimly-lit street corner, constantly checking the streets and generally looking nervous. He scanned the rooftops, then checked his watch, as Batgirl waited patiently on a rooftop on the opposite side of the street. The crook was a small-time drug dealer, but business wasn't doing so well, mainly due to most of his clients ending up in Arkham City, but with the demolition of the police force earlier today, he was feeling brave enough to try and make a sale, obviously hoping that he wouldn't get caught. But if he was hoping to not get caught, then he should have picked a spot that wasn't out in the open so much that Batgirl could easily spot him. Now, she was simply waiting for his clients to arrive, then she was going to swoop in and Arkham City would have a few more inmates. Batgirl shook her head, musing to herself and unable to believe that Arkham City had really been built. When she first heard about it, she thought it would never happen due to the negative reaction from the public, but somehow Quincey Sharp got elected, allowing him to greenlight his project. Stephanie had a feeling that with that many criminals wandering free and allowed to do as they pleased, apart from escaping, while being watched over by TYGER Forces, it was a melting pot that could only lead to disaster. Not to mention the fact that Arkham City had been built on the Narrows and therefore forced a lot of people out of their homes, even if they were compensated for it.

A car pulled up beside the drug dealer and two men stepped out, one of whom Batgirl recognised as a low-level crook, but the other guy…there was something about him that said he wasn't an average thug. Batgirl couldn't identify him and as she watched him, she felt that he was someone from a military background, judging from the way he carried himself. However, she was more interested in taking them down for dealing and when she saw an exchange of money and drugs, Batgirl swooped into action. First she took down the dealer, then spun towards the client, only to find that he'd been shoved towards her and the mercenary darted back into the car. Smacking the client unconscious, Batgirl fired her grappling gun towards the rooftops, hoping to keep up with the car as it sped through the backstreets of Old Town. She wondered why the car wasn't heading out towards the highway, but it was starting to get away from her and she needed to stop it.

"Birds of Prey, I need some back-up," Batgirl spoke into her com-link, "I'm chasing down a suspected drug-related criminal. I'm in pursuit, but I won't be for long. I'm on foot and they're in a car. Anyone nearby?"

"We're on our way," Black Canary replied, "ETA three minutes."

The car slowed as it neared a corner and Batgirl leapt off the rooftop, landing on the bonnet and punched her fist through the windscreen. The mercenary slammed on the brakes and Batgirl hit the road, her suit protecting her from harm. Getting out of the car, the mercenary drew his handgun and approached Batgirl, as she flung out a batarang, hitting him on the cheek. The mercenary cried out and fired wildly, but Batgirl hit him in the jaw, grabbing his wrist and forcing him to drop the gun. She kicked it away, as the mercenary punched her and ran down the nearest alley. Giving chase, Batgirl couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right and it all began with the drug dealer choosing an open spot to sell his wares. When she came to an empty back lot, she narrowly avoided the knife slicing for her throat and blocked the second attempt swipe, as the mercenary lashed out with his other fist. Stopping that blow, Batgirl hit the mercenary in the stomach, as he was suddenly pulled away and Black Canary delivered a knife-edge chop to his throat, causing him to gag and choke. Hurling him to the ground, Black Canary then kicked him in the face, knocking him out, as Starling and Katana joined Batgirl.

"He didn't seem so tough. Dunno what all the fuss was about," Starling commented.

"Something's not right," Batgirl said, "It was all too easy."

"I didn't want to make it too hard for you girls," boomed a man's voice, "But we had to meet somehow. And here we are."

The Birds of Prey whirled around to see a man in heavy black armour standing by the light of a nearby street lamp and he turned towards them, the lenses of his helmet flashing under the light. His armour resembled Jason Todd's Batman suit, albeit something that was created by the military and not in a slum apartment. It was outfitted with high tech gadgets and weaponry, a flowing black cape hanging from his shoulders.

"Who are you?" Black Canary demanded.

"I am called Prometheus," he said, slowly approaching them, "I am to justice what Doomsday is to Superman. Put simply, I am here to end the justice that runs this city."

"Not on our watch," Batgirl shot at him.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?"

"We are the Birds of Prey. You have to choose now, Prometheus. You can do it the easy way and surrender, or the hard way. I hope you choose the hard way, so we can show you what happens when you challenge people like us."

"Your funeral," Prometheus said.

His fist slammed into Batgirl's face, the blow knocking her off her feet and Black Canary lashed out, but Prometheus stopped her fist and kicked her in the stomach, before stopping Katana's sword with his gauntlet. Starling fired her handguns, but the bullets bounced off Prometheus' armoured chest, as he shoved Katana aside and avoided Black Canary's fist, hitting her in the stomach again. Batgirl and Starling moved together, attacking at the same time, as Katana joined the fray, swinging her sword. Breaking away from Batgirl and Starling, Prometheus snapped the blade in half, then punched Katana, before parrying Starling's fist and throwing her into Batgirl. Black Canary unleashed a sonic scream from her mouth, a gift she'd inherited from her mother, but Prometheus was unaffected and he traded blows with Black Canary, striking her several times to draw blood. Batgirl got up and flicked her wrists, punch blades popping out of her gauntlets and when they were charged with electricity provided by her suit, she rushed in to help her friend. Shoving the battered Black Canary aside, Prometheus parried and deflected each and every one of Batgirl's attacks, as if he knew exactly what move she was going to make next. Kicking her to her knees, Prometheus slapped a small gadget onto the back of Batgirl's neck that released a small shockwave into her body, paralysing her. With her down, Prometheus then took down Starling and Katana, knocking them both unconscious, as Black Canary stood up and wiped the blood from her face. She moved for Prometheus, striking with everything she had, giving her all, but even that wasn't enough, as Prometheus was able to counter every move she made, delivering a knife-edge chop to the side of her neck, knocking her unconscious. With the Birds of Prey incapacitated, Prometheus took a moment to admire his handiwork, then walked away from the scene, intending to leave them as a message.

-X-


	7. Evil Draws Men Together

Tim waited anxiously for the elevator to descend and when it finally touched the ground, the doors had barely opened before he was through them, racing towards the infirmary where the Birds of Prey were recovering from their injuries and he went straight to Stephanie.

"I heard what happened," he said as he hugged her, mindful of her injured body, "I came here as fast as I could."

"I'm okay," Stephanie smiled; happy to be in his arms as he planted a kiss on her forehead, "Nothing's broken, except for my pride."

"So, what happened?" Tim asked the group, taking Stephanie's hand in his.

"I would like to know that as well," came Helena's voice.

Damian had been the one who received the distress beacon and after alerting his older sister, they'd gone out and found the Birds of Prey bloodied and unconscious. They brought them back to the infirmary and it was only recently that the group started waking up.

"He said his name was…Prometheus," Black Canary started, "Said he was here to end justice."

"If that's the case, he was probably the one who blew up the police stations," Helena reasoned, "What about your sonic scream, Moira?"

"I tried that and it didn't work. It was like he was protected against it."

"Or he knew about your ability and made measures to protect himself," Helena said.

"This guy was tough. He took us all down without breaking a sweat," Starling said.

"It was a trap," Stephanie added, "That guy I was chasing. He led us to Prometheus."

"Well, I've got him in lock-up on the Watchtower, so I'll ask him what he knows," Helena said, "And then I'll go looking for Prometheus myself."

"Don't take him lightly, Hel," Stephanie said, "When we fought him, it was like he knew our every move before we did and therefore he could counter it. I think he's been watching us, learning our abilities and knowing what we can do."

"Helena, this is bad. You need all the help you can get," Tim said, "This Prometheus guy sounds like someone who requires everyone at once. Hell, maybe we could even get Jason to help us if we find him."

Helena raised an eyebrow, "This is Jason Todd we're talking about. He only cares about himself. If we find him and ask him for help, he'll sit back, laugh and watch the fight. And why would you suggest that anyway? He tried to kill your father...and you."

"It was just an idea," Tim mumbled, looking to Stephanie for reassurance, but she frowned.

"Jason Todd is on the run?" she asked, looking between her boyfriend and Helena.

"I have to go," Helena cut her off, "I need to find Prometheus before anything else happens."

-X-

There was a flash of light and the Huntress stepped off the teleportation device, entering the Watchtower, where she found Kyle Rayner sketching Earth and she paused. In the past two years since the formation of the Justice League, she had become good friends with Kyle, even to the point where they dated for a brief while. However, their jobs kept them apart (not to mention Helena's reluctance due to what happened to her previous boyfriend) and in the end, Kyle and Helena decided it would be best if they simply remained as friends. Even so, Helena found it hard to forget about their brief time together, especially if she remembered the tantalising kisses they shared. Reminding herself what she was here for, Helena steeled her mind and strode through the meeting room, determined to be professional.

"Hey, Helena," Kyle greeted, "You here to talk to the prisoner?"

"Is he still unconscious?" Huntress asked.

"Last I checked. Hey, I heard about what happened in Gotham. I'm sorry."

"Hopefully, this guy can lead me to the person responsible."

"If you need a hand, just give me a call," Kyle said, "I'll be happy to help."

"Thanks for the offer, but I can handle this one myself," Huntress replied.

She made her way to the jail cells, where the prisoner was still in an unconscious state. He had gone to wake up when the Huntress found him and she promptly knocked him out again, before hauling his ass to the Watchtower for detainment. Now, she threw a small bucket of water onto his face, swiftly waking him up and he tried to move, but found he was handcuffed to the bed and he looked around in bewilderment.

"What's your name?" Huntress demanded.

"Damien Carver," he replied, "Where the hell am I?"

"I'll be asking the questions. Who is Prometheus?"

He looked her in the eye and smirked. And it wasn't one that spoke of good intentions.

"He's the guy who's going to burn Gotham City to the ground," Carver replied, "The time of superheroes upholding the peace and justice is coming to an end."

"Where can I find him?"

"Oh, you don't find him. He finds you. And he has you in his sights, Huntress. Best you hang up your cape now before he makes you do it."

Helena wanted nothing more than to belt that cocky smirk right off Carver's face, but she resolved herself, knowing he wasn't worth it. Still, she couldn't help her growing anger at how he seemed so sure of Prometheus' abilities, seemingly confident that she would lose in the fight. She was determined to show Carver just how wrong he would be.

"We'll see," the Huntress said, "Prometheus may be formidable, but he's no Superman."

Carver's smirk grew wilder, if possible. "He doesn't have to be."

-X-

Helena sighed, using her fingers as a comb to brush through her hair as she came up from the cave. She loved her long hair, but she sometimes felt that it was perhaps time for a change, maybe something that was just past her shoulders. Something different. It had been a while since Helena took some time to pamper herself. Perhaps once this thing with Prometheus was done, she was going to book herself into a beauty parlour.

The thump of a heavy bag hitting the ground caught Helena's attention and she turned to see Cassandra standing in the foyer. Confused, she joined her sister with a questioning look.

"I've already booked the flight," Cassandra said before Helena could asked, "And I've already made up my mind, so don't try and talk me out of this."

"Where are you going?" Helena asked.

"I spoke to Father and I asked him if he knew where I come from. There is no doubt he would have looked into my past. He told me about a drawing I did eight years ago, when we first met and he recognised it as the Temple of the League of Shadows."

"Cass, that's in the Himalayans," Helena said, "You're only sixteen. How are you going to manage the climb? And if you make it, if the League still exists, we're talking about the home of assassins. You're good, but you can't fight them all if it comes down to that."

"It's where my past is. Perhaps I can find some answers and understand why my birth is tied to Lady Shiva," Cassandra continued, "Please, Helena, I need to do this. Let me do this. There is a reason I was born and that answer is possibly at the League."

Helena quickly mulled it over. She didn't want her sister halfway across the world in harsh conditions that her father barely survived, but seeing the look on Cassandra's face, Helena knew that this was something she needed, to learn the truth behind her existence.

"Look, I was hoping you could help me with this Prometheus thing, but I can see this is important to you," Helena said, "Just promise me that you'll be safe and if you need help, don't hesitate to call, no matter how big or small. I will be there as quickly as I can."

A small smile came to Cassandra and she hugged Helena. "Thank you."

Responding to a kiss to her forehead, Helena stepped back and watched as her sister picked up her bag and leave the mansion, their private driver ready to take her to the airport. With a heavy heart, Helena waited until the car passed through the property's gates, before closing the door and turning around to see Damian standing on the stairs.

"Cassandra's left?" he asked.

Helena nodded, "You already knew she was leaving?"

"She told me, yeah. I agreed with her because I knew it was important for her to find out where she came from. She'll be fine, Helena. She's a fighter. If something happens, she'll call. I'm sure Conner wouldn't mind taking us here if needs be."

"Yeah, I know. I just…I worry," Helena said, "Watching out for you both-"

"Doing the protective older sister thing," Damian said, "I get it. Still annoying sometimes."

Helena rolled her eyes humorously and ruffled her brother's hair in the way he didn't like.

"And I love you too, little brother."

-X-

Batman stood near the ruins of a police station, using the x-ray scanner to search for evidence, comparing the photographs in the hope that something would come up. He needed to find this Prometheus and bring him to justice swiftly. Gotham was in great disarray with the police force demolished and criminals were coming out of hiding, starting to get bolder with their antics, unfazed by the threat of Arkham City because they believed they were now invincible from the law, given that now the only law upholders were the Huntress and her allies. A short list that grew shorter with the Birds of Prey temporarily out of action.

"Evils draw men together," came a voice from Batman and he whirled around to face Prometheus, "A nice night for it, no?"

"You must be Prometheus," Batman said, "I've been looking for you."

"Here I am. Are you sure you really want to do this? I will allow you to back down."

Batman didn't respond. Instead, he moved for Prometheus and swung his fist, aiming for Prometheus' face, but it landed in his grasp instead, surprising Batman.

"This should be interesting," Prometheus said as he struck Batman, "I do hope you put up a better fight than your Birds of Prey friends."

-X-


	8. Call From A Friend

"If it helps, you fought rather admirably," Prometheus said, resting on a scrap of metal, "I was certainly impressed. But alas, the time has come to stamp out the rampant fools of justice and you would make the perfect effigy for my cause."

Batman coughed up blood into his mask, his body screaming in pain and he struggled to even lift his arms, trying to get up and continue the fight. He had thought himself one of the best fighters in the state, but this Prometheus…he was something else. During the fight, Batman felt like he'd been fighting a hundred Ted Grants at once and his body was aching from the battle, threatening to give out completely. Every move he'd made, Prometheus had a counter and every blow that Prometheus landed struck upon a pressure point, weakening Batman further. His vision was blurry and he struggled to make out Prometheus standing near a streetlight, the fluorescent light washing over his dark armour and making him shine. A group of armed mercenaries stepped out from the darkness at the click of Prometheus' fingers and two of them hauled Batman to his knees, ignoring his weak protesting cries of pain.

"Hang him where everyone can see," Prometheus ordered, "Let him be the example to the others that the time of law and order is coming to an end."

Batman dropped his head, slowly losing the battle against the oncoming darkness and he faded in and out of consciousness, as the two mercenaries proceeded to carry out Prometheus' order, when car lights suddenly fell upon them. There was the roar of a powerful engine and a few mercenaries cried out when they were struck by the Tumbler.

"The Huntress," Prometheus said, before melting into the darkness with a swish of his cape.

The mercenaries opened fire on the Tumbler, bullets bouncing off its indestructible hide and in response, the Tumbler fired explosive rounds onto the ruins of the police station, scattering the mercenaries. A mercenary aimed his rifle, but something heavy landed upon him and Nightwing rolled towards the nearest mercenary, his electric nightsticks flashing as he struck down the mercenary. There was a cry of pain when the Huntress belted down a mercenary with her quarterstaff and she spun around to clip another soldier on the jaw, an arrow launching from her gauntlet to impale a soldier in his dominant shoulder. Batman smiled weakly to himself, thankful he managed to activate his distress beacon in time and he slowly drifted into catalepsy, hearing rather than seeing the battle take place.

"Nightwing, get Batman into the Tumbler," the Huntress ordered.

She moved through the mercenaries with swift precision like the deadly fighter she was, swinging her quarterstaff and striking a mercenary with each blow, as Nightwing assaulted a mercenary with his nightsticks, then checked Batman for a pulse. Carefully hauling him onto his shoulders, Nightwing hurried to the Tumbler, the cockpit automatically opening for him and he gently laid the unconscious hero inside, as a mercenary grabbed him from behind. Shoving off from the Tumbler, Nightwing dropped to the ground and tossed the mercenary overhead, then rolled forth and planted a kick to his face. Meanwhile, the Huntress dislocated a mercenary's arm and smacked him to the ground to whimper in pain, then looked around and caught sight of a few mercenaries fleeing for their lives.

"Nightwing, on me!" she called.

"Tumbler, activate defence mode," Nightwing ordered, before following his sister.

The siblings gave chase, entering the alley and they came out into a back lot car park, as a fist came out of nowhere towards the Huntress' face. She just ducked in time and Nightwing lunged, his elbow crashing into the mercenary's face, as the Huntress used her quarterstaff to block the fist from another mercenary. As it turned out, the mercenaries they chased had gone for back-up and now the two siblings were surrounded by highly trained killers. Not that had ever bothered them before and the Huntress and Nightwing threw themselves into battle, the two a perfect team as they watched each other's backs, laying waste to the mercenaries surrounding them. From a nearby rooftop, Prometheus watched the pair, his white hair blowing in the slight breeze, his helmet by his feet and recording the fight, analysing the fighting styles of Huntress and Nightwing. While he could go down and end the fight, he knew it wasn't time yet and once the analysis was complete, he picked up his helmet and left, leaving his men to fall prey to the Huntress and her brother.

-X-

Helena sat at her desk, staring into space and deep in thought. The morning sun was shining through the office window, but she barely noticed, too busy thinking about the problem at hand.

"Prometheus," she whispered to herself.

He was a crisis overtaking her other worries in terms of priority. Terry was still in a coma from the vicious beating, although his vitals were still pretty good and Helena had hope that he might be awake by either tonight or tomorrow. The Birds of Prey were starting to move around, all eager to leave the infirmary and seek their revenge on Prometheus.

Gathering from what she knew, Helena figured that Prometheus wasn't superhuman, yet his prowess in combat was something to be regretfully admired. Not only had he managed to single-handedly take down the Birds of Prey, but he had also soundly beaten Terry senseless and Terry was considered one of the best fighters around, second only to Damian and Helena herself. Carver's words came back to her and for once, Helena began to worry. She had faced her fair share of trouble from Duela, Jason and the Court of Owls, but Prometheus seemed to be on a whole different level and Helena knew she was going to have to fight harder than ever before if she hoped to beat him.

"Miss. Wayne, is everything alright?" her secretary broke her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Helena replied, "Just got a lot of things on my plate."

"Do you want me to cancel some of your plans?"

"No, it's fine. I have that charity auction on tonight, don't I?"

"Yes, Miss. Wayne. I've already put your reservation in, of course. Are you still on?"

Finding Prometheus was important, but so was keeping up appearances and while the charity auction didn't entirely require her presence, Helena knew she had to go. Searching for Prometheus would have to wait until tomorrow night.

"Yes, I'll be there," Helena said, "But I need a break, so put me down for a two-week vacation starting from Sunday. I'm thinking Bahamas, so I don't wish to be disturbed at all for anything. I'm sure the boys can manage without me for a while."

"Yes, ma'am, of course."

At least there was a small weight off Helena's shoulders, allowing her to search for Prometheus and Jason without having to worry about making public appearances, although when this was all over, she was going to take a very legitimate, long overdue vacation.

"Oh, and you have a call waiting for you on line one," the secretary continued, "John Blake."

Helena waved her away, took a moment to collect herself, then answered the call.

"Helena, I heard what happened to Terry," John greeted, "I hope he's okay. Tim's told me what's been going on."

"Terry's going to be fine," Helena said, "He'll pull through."

"Look, if you need a help, I'm willing-"

"Don't worry about it, we'll be fine here. I promise you, we'll have this whole Prometheus deal wrapped up by tomorrow night. Just enjoy your vacation. That's the whole point of going on one, isn't it? To not worry about home. Hell, I know I need one."

"Well, if you're sure about it," John said, although he didn't sound convinced.

"I'm sure. It's all good," Helena reassured, though she didn't know who she was trying to reassure more: John or herself. "Seriously, take Barbara out for dinner. We've got this."

"I'm just a phone call away if you need me," John said, "Take care."

"Always do," Helena replied, before ending the call and sighing as she leaned back.

-X-

Despite the horror of the police force dying in simultaneous explosions, the atmosphere of the charity auction was one of festivity, an event created to raise funds for the families left devastated by the attacks. Helena suspected it was the champagne keeping everyone from falling into a sombre mood, but she kept worrying about other things. Terry was still in a coma, although his vitals were still quite good and he was showing signs of response, which hopefully he might wake up tomorrow night. However, Helena was thinking about Damian and Tim, having put the two together on patrol and telling them to watch out for Prometheus, to watch each other's backs and to never separate. She had also told the two that if they did find Prometheus, they were to contact her immediately and wait for her arrival, feeling they would have a better chance if they fought him together. And so for the past few hours since arriving at the auction, Helena had been anxiously checking the time, waiting for when the auction wrapped up so she could leave and join her brother. She tried to keep to herself, but people of high distinction kept wanting to talk to her, so she had no choice but to slap on a fake smile and join the conversation, wishing time could go faster.

After leaving the tenth meet-and-greet, Helena wandered over to the drinks bar for a little 'me time' and ordered a ginger ale, sipping it as she observed the crowd. It was then she spotted a familiar face and she had to do a double take, her jaw dropping in surprise.

"Jason?"

She set the ale aside and started weaving through the crowd, trying to get to him, but like a ghost, he was gone and Helena scanned the crowd again, locating his retreating back heading towards the exit. Bunching her dress so she could move faster and ignoring the curious eyes, Helena made her way out into the courtyard, growling in annoyance to find that she had lost him again. She loitered in the courtyard, hoping he would present himself, but he never did and she reluctantly went back inside, wondering what kind of game he was playing.

Before she was going to have an anxiety attack, Helena made her excuses to leave and once she done her farewells, headed towards the nearest hidden Batcave built into the city so she could go out on patrol when she received the call she never wanted to get.

-X-

AN: Reviews are lovely. They're like love...or oxygen...either one...


	9. Broken and Done

Nightwing sighed contently as the night breeze blew gently through his long hair and he looked up at the stars, taking the moment to relax. Neither he or Red Robin had been successful in finding Prometheus and Nightwing was considering one last patrol before retiring for the night.

"So, next Sunday, some friends and I are going to Keystone City for the football game," Red Robin said, joining Nightwing on the rooftop, "You still interested? The Rogues win this one, they're up for the premiership."

"Yeah, sure, I won't say no," Damian replied, "I need to get out of the house and away from Helena for a while."

"You still upset about how she chose me over you to look for Jason?" Tim asked.

Damian shrugged, "I'm over it…mostly. I'm a still little bit annoyed about it. That's why I need to get away."

"She's just being protective. I'm sure it's an older sibling thing, not that I would have a clue, but perhaps you might. Don't you feel the same way about Cass?"

It was a rhetorical question and Tim simply wanted to prove a point. Damian cared deeply about Cassandra like they were actually biological siblings, the pair forming a close bond and yes, he was quite protective of her, but he also knew that she could make her own decisions, hence why he agreed with her to seek out the League of Shadows for answers about her past.

"Well, when you have an overbearing sister like mine," Nightwing said, turning around to face his friend, then stopped in surprise at the scene before him.

Red Robin was unconscious and in the grasp of Prometheus, who was accompanied by three bodyguards as he locked eyes with Nightwing and dropped Tim to the ground.

"You would be Nightwing," Prometheus said, stepping over Red Robin, "The person who I've noticed to be the closest to the Huntress. The way I've watched you two fight together makes me think that you are perhaps related. Brother and sister?"

Nightwing responded by drawing his electric fighting sticks and igniting them. Prometheus simply sneered and raised his hands, palm up to the sky.

"Well, if you're in such a hurry to die, I'm more than willing to help," Prometheus said, closing the gap, "Though how you die is completely up to you."

Nightwing knew he should really call in his sister as back-up, but with Tim unconscious and guarded by mercenaries and Prometheus advancing on him, he felt he had to make a stand. Apart from his sister, Damian was the best fighter in Gotham and he felt that he would be able to handle Prometheus.

Nightwing made the first strike, swinging a stick at Prometheus' face, but the move was blocked, as was the follow-up strike and Nightwing sneaked a kick through to slam against Prometheus' stomach. The escrima stick struck Prometheus on the side of his helmet, discharging an electrical current that was nullified by the suit and Nightwing made the same strike with the other stick, then snapped a kick against Prometheus' head. As he took a step back from the move, Nightwing activated the telescopic ends of his sticks and fused them together into a quarterstaff, the electricity humming as they were swung through the air. Nightwing pressed his attack, slamming blows against Prometheus' body and he blocked each strike with his forearms, although a few moves landed on his body and he was being pushed towards the edge of the rooftop. Catching one end in his hand, Prometheus glared at Nightwing, then yanked him forward to elbow him in the face. The blow staggered Nightwing, but he recovered in time to deflect Prometheus' fist, swinging the other staff end around to slam against Prometheus' gauntlet. Refusing to be deterred, Nightwing adopted a different fighting style to use in conjunction with the quarterstaff and launched into a combo that utilised his agile and acrobatic style. Prometheus defended himself well enough, deflecting or dodging each blow that swung his way and he waited for an opening, while Nightwing was starting to get frustrated, but tried to keep his cool.

Driving a kick against Prometheus' chest with a shout, Nightwing split the quarterstaff in two and landed both sticks upon Prometheus' head, hoping the dual discharge would disorient his opponent. So he found himself even more frustrated when Prometheus chuckled.

"Is that the best you can offer me? I was hoping for something a little more. After all, we are both disciples of the League of Shadows. However, the League weren't the only ones I studied," Prometheus said, "Allow me to show you."

Nightwing parried Prometheus' first punch, but scored a blow to his ribs; as Prometheus then got his hand behind Nightwing's head and brought him down to meet his knee. Nightwing got his sticks in the way in time to stop his nose being shattered and he then shoved them into his opponent's torso in order to create some space, before going on the attack again. Prometheus used Nightwing's momentum against him, pulling him off balance and slamming his knee into Nightwing's stomach, then slug him in the face. Nightwing swung a stick, but Prometheus locked his arms across each other, before taking his feet out from underneath him. In response, Nightwing wrapped his legs around Prometheus' head, only to be lifted up and slammed back against the rooftop, loosening his hold. Grabbing hold of Nightwing's hair, Prometheus hauled him up and struck him again, then kicked him in the chest.

"You're passionate and you fight with a lot of spirit," Prometheus said, hitting Nightwing in the stomach, then across the back, "Admirable qualities. But you fight with your heart instead of your head and that, my boy, will be your downfall."

Nightwing moved in again, with Prometheus parrying his strikes and hitting him upon the arm, followed by two swift blows to the torso and another to the face. Nightwing wiped the blood from his mouth and this renewed his vigour, launching into a controlled frenzy, trying to hit Prometheus anywhere on his body, electricity buzzing through the air.

A blow to Nightwing's ribs. A stick slicing across Prometheus' inner thigh. Prometheus' fist slamming into Nightwing's jaw. An elbow to Prometheus' sternum. A stick clattering to the ground and Nightwing cried out in pain from his wrist being dislocated. A fist to Prometheus' jaw in reply and Nightwing was dropped to the ground, a kick being driven into his face. Blood streaked the ground and Red Robin began to stir, as Prometheus struck Nightwing in the face a few times, smearing it with blood.

"While Batman would have made a good example of what I intend to do, I believe you would be the better effigy. If not for Gotham, then at least for the Huntress. The perfect prey."

"You stay….the hell…away from my sister," Nightwing choked, forcing himself to get up.

He lunged with a shout and Prometheus countered, slamming a fist against Damian's ribs, then slugged him across the face. Faltering in his attack and with his mind slowly shutting down from the assault, Nightwing attempted one final attack. Unfortunately, due to his weakening condition, Prometheus reversed his attempt and unleashed a devastating assault that ended with Nightwing lying on the ground, his face covered in his own blood as he struggled to breathe, body aching in pain with his dislocated wrist causing him the most suffering. Too weak to move and with unconsciousness threatening to close in on him, Nightwing was helpless as Prometheus dragged him to the rooftop's edge and picked him up like he was a child.

"Broken. And done," Prometheus announced and he let Nightwing go.

The intertrite suit protected Nightwing from the fall and he smacked his head against the concrete, instantly knocked out as blood seeped from a crack in his skull. Prometheus nodded in appreciation, then turned towards the mercenaries guarding Red Robin.

"What should we do with him?" a mercenary asked.

"Leave him. He serves no consequence," Prometheus replied, "Our job here is done."

-X-

Ambulance sirens wailed through Gotham as the emergency vehicle raced towards Gotham General Hospital, the Tumbler following closely with Red Robin in the driver's seat. Helena was inside the ambulance, wearing her Huntress suit and she watched on in despair as her brother fought for his life, the paramedic patching the head wound as they raced through the streets. Upon receiving the call from Tim, Helena had changed and raced out in the Tumbler as quick as she could, finding the paramedics already tending to Damian and she couldn't believe the scene she stumbled upon: her unconscious brother lying in a pool of his own blood, his body battered from the brutal fight and having been thrown from the rooftop. Tim was apologising over and over, but Helena didn't hear him, her focus completely on Damian until there was nothing else. She felt like she was detached from her body, her mind frozen in a state of numbness. She didn't how much time passed by, but it seemed like forever since they started on the road, but finally, they arrived at the hospital and Damian was rushed inside. The Tumbler pulled up and Tim hurried inside after Helena, who took no notice of anything but her brother and Tim had to stop her from walking into nurses and other patients, as Damian was taken into the emergency surgery room.

"Miss, excuse me, Miss," a nurse called after Helena, but she took no notice.

"I'll handle it," Tim said to the nurse.

In such a detached state that Helena nearly walked into the surgery room, until a doctor went to stop her and she threw him against the wall, the action breaking her out of her trance.

"I'm…sorry," Helena apologised, "Please…help him."

The doctor nodded and hurried past her, getting ready and Helena stood outside, staring through the window as numerous doctors stood around Damian and hooked him up to life-support machines, before preparing to save his life. A tear slid down Helena's face as she watched her brother fight for his life, feeling she had failed him. She had broken her promise to watch over and protect him, a promise she had made since he first entered this world and that realisation of her broken promise crushed her almost as much as watching him struggle to survive. She caught snippets of 'bleeding on the brain' and 'must operate now' and her fear for her brother skyrocketed. Helena felt helpless and it was not a feeling she experienced very often. All she could do now was wait and pray to whatever deity who could hear her that Damian would survive. Nothing else mattered more than his life right now.

"Damn it, Damian, don't you dare die on me now," Helena cried, falling slump against the wall and sliding down it, the tears flowing freely.

It was all she could do.

-X-

AN: Don't worry, Damian isn't going to die. I'm not Grant Morrison, so it's all good on that front. Next chapter: Prometheus locates his next target.


	10. Even Legends Fall

Only the steady beep of the heart beat monitor kept Helena awake, sitting vigil by her brother's bedside, her hand clutched in his. She still wore her Huntress outfit, but her mask sat on the bedside table, although Helena wasn't worried about her identity being revealed. They were in a private room and Helena had demanded that they weren't to be disturbed, unless she gave her permission. She was tired, but she refused to sleep, determined to stay awake for Damian's sake. The doctors had managed to reduce the bleeding on his brain and patched his wound, although he was now in a coma and she wasn't sure how long it was going to be until he woke up. The despair she felt for her brother was slowly being consumed by rage, her anger at Prometheus slowly increasing and she wanted nothing more than to find him and beat him into a coma in retaliation for what he'd done to Damian.

There was a knock at the door and Helena slowly slipped her mask on, before allowing entry to the arrival, her eyes never leaving her brother's face.

"Hey, Helena," Tim greeted softly, "How's things?"

"Same as usual," Helena replied without looking up, "What have you found out on Prometheus?"

Arms were suddenly thrown around Helena's shoulders and she reacted, but quickly relaxed when she saw it was Stephanie and she was thankful her friend was out of the infirmary.

"I'm so sorry, Hel," Stephanie said, feeling the hug being returned, "I promise you, we're going to get this guy. The Birds of Prey are gathering together and we're going hunting."

"I appreciate it, Steph, I really do. But how do we fight someone who can tear us apart like we're amateurs?"

"If there's anyone who can fight him, it's you," Tim said, "I know I don't stand a chance. Doesn't mean I'm not going to look for him. He needs to be brought to justice for what he's done. Like Steph said, the Birds of Prey are back on their feet and I'm sure that all of us together stand a chance against him."

"But in the meantime, you need to go home," Stephanie told Helena, "Have something to eat, get some rest. Look at you, you're a wreck. We can stay here with Damian."

"I don't want to leave him," Helena said, even as she yawned, "But I guess you're right."

She stood up and stretched, loosening her joints and with a pat to Tim's shoulder, she left the hospital, taking the Tumbler to return to the cave. Once she had parked, Helena removed her mask and cape, dropping them aside as she headed towards the training pad, slamming a fist against the punching bag. All her anger and frustration came to the fore and Helena began smashing her fists against the bag, letting out a scream of rage with a final blow and she sank to her knees, her anger evaporating and the tears started again. She felt helpless, with her allies defeated and her brother in a coma, thanks to a man who'd come from nowhere with a plan to rob Gotham of its protectors. Now, Helena was the only person left standing and she fought to resolve herself, finding the determination to not let Prometheus win.

Shedding her suit, Helena made her way upstairs to do what Stephanie suggested and once she had something to eat, she laid down to sleep, the overwhelming tiredness causing her to instantly fall asleep. Unfortunately, she only got a few hours sleep before the alarm sounded, jolting her awake and it took her a moment to realise that the cave was being broken into. Rushing down into the cave, Helena donned her suit, fitting her mask into place just as Prometheus and a small band of mercenaries entered the cave.

"It took us a while to find this place, but we managed," Prometheus said, "I do enjoy tracking devices. Perhaps your friend should check himself before leading the enemy to his lair."

"I owe you for what you've done to my friends," Huntress said through gritted teeth.

"Well, here's an incentive," Prometheus said, holding up Nightwing's fighting sticks, "Do these look familiar to you?"

Huntress' fingers curled into fists and she had no doubt that Prometheus was smirking beneath his helmet. The urge to pulverise him was almost too great to resist, but she held her ground, trying to remember her father's words about holding back the anger and not let it rule her. There was some way Prometheus had an upper hand on her allies, managing to defeat them despite their experience and the Huntress refused to become his next victim.

"I have to say, you're pretty ballsy," the Huntress said, hand slowly reaching for her quarterstaff, "Coming into town, blowing up the entire police force, putting Batman and Nightwing into hospital…yet you've left me for last."

"In chess, the aim is to checkmate the king, even though the queen is the most powerful piece," Prometheus responded, "In this case, Gotham is the king and you are the queen."

As he spoke, he slowly approached the Huntress, who met him halfway, her fist lashing out into his face. Her other fist snapped around, her next blow slamming against his ribs and she grabbed his head, slamming his face into her knee. As Prometheus took a step back, the Huntress snapped out her quarterstaff and swung towards his face, but he blocked with the fighting sticks and he smirked at seeing the rage grow in the Huntress' eyes.

"If I am correct about the useless waste of human life I defeated last night, he was your brother," Prometheus said, deflecting Huntress' next move and hitting her in the back of the ribs with the electric stick, "He fought bravely for someone who is on death's doors."

The Huntress whirled around with the quarterstaff swinging towards his head, but he ducked under it, his move being blocked and she finally struck him, spinning around to swipe at his legs. Rolling away as the quarterstaff slapped against the concrete, Prometheus used the fighting sticks to remove the quarterstaff from Huntress' hands, delivering a few blows to her abdomen in the process, a final blow to her face knocking her to her knees.

"So, do you feel like a big man beating up a woman?" the Huntress asked, wiping the blood from her mouth

"It doesn't matter what gender you are," Prometheus replied, "As long as you stand for justice and therefore in my way, I will destroy you."

The Huntress lunged for him and swung her fist, but Prometheus ducked and jabbed her in the stomach with Nightwing's stick, the electricity thankfully nullified by her suit. A stick slapped across her back and the Huntress whirled around with her elbow aimed at Prometheus' face, except that he trapped her arm with the sticks and twisted it, forcing her to double over to relieve the pain. His armoured shin slammed into her stomach and the Huntress staggered back, clutching her stomach as she fought to regain her breath.

"It is useless to fight me, Huntress," Prometheus said, "I know your each and every move. I know what you're going to do next before you do."

A batarang sliced towards his head and he deflected it with his gauntlet, as the Huntress slammed her elbow into his face, her other fist finding home in his ribs and she drove a third blow into his face. Prometheus reeled back from the sudden onslaught of fists, the Huntress allowing her rage to control her, propelling her to strike every inch of Prometheus' body, the image of her brother's broken body the one constant on her mind. She kept pummelling away, until lights appeared from Prometheus' shoulders, emitting a bright flash that blinded the Huntress. She recoiled and bullets slammed into her body, courtesy of Prometheus' gauntlets. Thankfully, the bullets were unable to pierce her suit, but the force of the numerous projectiles still disoriented her, allowing Prometheus to slam the fighting sticks onto her pressure points, the Huntress falling to her knees in agony. She lashed out at Prometheus when he approached her, but he caught her wrist, twisting her arm to cause her pain, then grabbed a fistful of her hair, forcing her head back so she could look him in the eye.

"I have the fighting abilities of thirty different masters, all who are the best in their discipline. You, you know only the League of Shadows and that is why you will die."

A smoke bomb went off in his face and the Huntress threw batarangs at the mercenaries to keep them back as she raced over to the armoury, unloading a large Krytonian-based rifle and fired at Prometheus, blasting him in the chest. He slammed against the wall and didn't move, as she fired at the mercenaries next, taking them out of commission. Then, Huntress slowly approached the slumped Prometheus, rifle ready to fire, when the shoulder lights flashed again and once more, the Huntress found herself blinded and disorientated. The rifle was smacked from her hands and she lashed out blindly, but Prometheus parried her fist and put her into an arm lock, before wrenching hard and dislocating her arm. Huntress cried out, a fist slamming into her face and she collapsed to the ground, the toll of the fight and her restless state finally all too much for her. Blood trickled from her mouth and nose, her arm throbbing in pain where it'd been dislocated, but she still sought the energy to continue the fight, despite knowing that she was on the verge of losing. A memory came to her, of her father telling her the story about Bane and how he had defeated her father, breaking his back in the process. In an eerily similar fashion, Helena had met her match and she was facing not only defeat, but also death. Another memory, this one of Damian in the coma and with a surge of anger, the Huntress slowly rose to her feet, determined to fight on.

"I see that you're stubborn," Prometheus commented, "Refusing to give in, even in the face of defeat. It's almost noble if it wasn't so pathetic."

The Huntress threw her good fist at him and he dodged, his elbow crashing into her face, followed by his other fist, a blow to her back dropping her to her hands and knees. Prometheus slammed a kick into her stomach, throwing her onto her back, then placed a foot on her stomach, holding her arm as he raised his arm, the rotary gun popping out. Huntress stared at Prometheus, even as darkness swarmed her vision, but she held a look of defiance in her eyes, something that Prometheus noticed, causing him to chuckle.

"Even in the face of certain death, you still refuse to give up. If it makes your passing any easier, I will remember you as one of my more challenging opponents. Such fire. But in the end, it amounts to nothing. Farewell, Huntress."

There was a sudden flash of bright light that filled the entire cave, blinding everyone inside and when it finally faded, Prometheus was gone, involved in some other fight that Helena could only hear and the last thing she saw before she gave in to the darkness was a pair of green eyes behind a red domino mask.

-X-


	11. A Special Request

AN: After the nastiness of last chapter, I thought I'd have something nice happen in this one.

-X-

Arkham Asylum.

Formerly the home of the criminally insane, it now served as the headquarters of the TYGER Security Force following the opening of Arkham City. Commander Michael Crowley became aware of the headquarters under attack when the sirens blared and he could hear gunfire in the lower levels, calls for back-up broadcasting across the radios. Assembling a small group, Crowley sought out the disruption, finding several of his men unconscious or dead and upon entering a hallway, found Prometheus holding a TYGER in a headlock. He kneed the commando in the gut, then threw him face first into the wall, as Crowley drew his handgun.

"Stop right there," Crowley demanded, "Identity yourself."

"I call myself Prometheus, but you can refer to me as 'sir'," Prometheus replied.

"What are you talking about? I am in command here. I don't know who you think you are-"

"Commander, you can either submit and live, or refuse and die. Your choice. The point is I'm now in complete control of your TYGER Forces. You can try and argue with me on that one, but considering I have nearly rendered them all useless, your argument is invalid."

A TYGER soldier opened fire, but Prometheus' shoulder lights flashed, blinding everyone and when Crowley finally regained his vision, he was being suspended by his throat, held up against the wall by Prometheus.

"Perhaps I should just kill you and save myself some trouble," Prometheus said.

"No! I'll follow you," Crowley said, "Put me down and I promise you, the TYGER Force is good as yours."

"Good," Prometheus said, dumping Crowley at his feet, "Begin by opening the armoury to the inmates."

"Are you crazy?" Crowley demanded, "If we give firearms to the criminals-"

His voice was cut off by Prometheus' foot pressing down against his throat.

"Your forces are mine to command, in case you've already forgotten. If I tell you to open the armouries to the inmates, you will do just that. Do not question me again. Next time, I will not be so tolerate."

He removed his boot and Crowley gasped for air, reaching for his two-way radio.

"This is Commander Crowley calling out to remaining TYGER Forces. This is an order to open the armoury to the inmates. I repeat, open the armoury to the inmates. This is not an order to be disobeyed."

"Excellent, Commander. I believe we'll get along just fine."

-X-

"I can't believe he's still alive," Stephanie said, stroking Damian's hand, "I mean, he's always been resilient, but this is something else."

Tim came up behind his girlfriend, his hands on her shoulders as he kissed her cheek.

"Want to come for a walk with me?" he asked.

"What about Damian?" Stephanie asked, "We can't just leave him here."

"Five minutes, that's all I'm asking for."

Stephanie chewed her bottom lip in thought, which Tim always thought was cute, but thankfully for him, she made up her mind and nodded. Leaving the room, the couple made their way out towards the courtyard, which had been renovated to include a beautiful lush garden, filled with numerous flowers of different kinds and as they headed that way, Tim could feel his heart hammering in his chest, his palms getting sweaty and Stephanie noticed.

"Tim, is everything alright?" she asked, "You're looking worried all of a sudden."

"I'm good," Tim replied as they reached the garden, "It's just, when I heard you were in the infirmary, I was so worried that I dropped everything and came straight to you."

"I love you too," Stephanie smiled.

"I love you too. Like you couldn't believe, Steph," Tim said, taking in a deep breath in order to say what he really wanted to say, "Look, I thought for a crazy second that I might end up losing you. At least, that was what initially went through my mind when I heard what happened and I realised something…well, I knew all along, but it really confirmed it-"

"Timothy, you're rambling," Stephanie said.

She rarely used his full name unless she was admonishing him and it caused him to smile, knowing that what he was going to say next was completely right…even if the time and place weren't exactly what he had in mind, but it was the thought that counts.

"Stephanie, I can't live my life without you in it. I need you by my side. Basically, what I'm saying is," he said, dropping to one knee and opening a small box before her, "Will you marry me?"

Stephanie gasped, in full shock and surprise, as she stared at the stunning ring. He had really outdone himself this time and for the first time in her life, Stephanie was speechless. But she already had her answer and she knew in her heart that he was the one for her.

"Any time you want to give me an answer," Tim said, "I hurt my knee the other week, so it's kinda painful to be kneeling like this for a while."

"Well, get up and put it on my finger, because my answer is yes," Stephanie grinned.

Returning the grin, Tim slid the ring onto her finger, the pair sharing a meaningful kiss, both understanding the implications of what was going to happen next in their lives and they were both looking forward to the next stage of their lives.

"Imagine how we tell our kids about this," Stephanie said, reluctantly breaking the kiss, "How you proposed to me in the middle of Gotham General's garden."

"I honestly had it all planned out better than this, but recent events forced me to improvise and, well, no time like the present," Tim said, holding her close, revelling in her warmth.

"I have to tell the girls about this. And Helena. Oh, imagine her reaction. She'll love it!"

After another kiss to Tim, she grabbed her phone and called Moira, telling them the great news while Tim stood back with a smile on his face as he watched his fiancée glow with happiness as she told her fellow Birds of Prey. However, when she attempted to call Helena, she got no answer, even after a second attempt.

"She must be more worn out than I thought," Stephanie said after hanging up, "The girls all said their congratulations and Moira already asked to be maid-of-honour."

"I think she's going to have to fight Helena for that role," Tim said, "Why don't we go and tell her in person. I'm sure Moira or Evelyn can watch over Damian while we're gone."

"Yeah, sure. I'll call them."

Twenty minutes later, Moira arrived to look after Damian and congratulated the couple once more before they departed. When they arrived at the cave, Tim knowing without a doubt that Helena would be resting in the cave instead of at home, they were surprised to find the place in disarray, a large Kryptonian rifle lying discarded on the floor.

"What the hell happened here?" Stephanie asked, "Where's Helena?"

Tim went straight to the computer, checking the security feed and his jaw dropped in horror as he watched the recorded fight between Helena and Prometheus, which appeared to result in Helena's defeat. However, there was a bright flash of light that rendered the camera useless for a few minutes and when they came back online, only Prometheus and his mercenaries were left standing in the cave, before making their departure. Tim rewound the recordings, trying desperately to find out what happened to Helena, but she was nowhere to be found in the tapes after her defeat and he started to panic.

"Helena's gone," Tim said, "She's gone. Prometheus has taken her somewhere."

"We'll find her," Stephanie said, "Helena's tough and she'll figure something out. But until then, we won't stop until we find her."

-X-

The truck rumbled along the road and Cassandra took her chance, leaping off the back and aiming for the grassy slopes, her bag of belongings clutched tightly in her arms. Her aim was spot on and she rolled several times, jarring her shoulder and she finally came to a stop, spitting out clumps of frozen grass. Slowly getting to her feet, thanks to her now-injured knee, Cassandra turned her attention to the snow-capped mountains and with a wearied sigh, set off for them, wrapping the cloth around her face to protect herself against the sub-zero winds. Her adoptive father had survived the journey and she was determined to do the same, knowing that the answers she sought resided within the dizzying altitudes.

Trudging for hours up the mountainside was wearisome, but Cassandra pushed on, fearing that if she stopped for even a moment, she wouldn't be able to get up again and therefore freeze to death and that was something she refused to let happen, not when she was so close to finding answers. She passed through a small village, the inhabitants shying away at her presence, closing their doors and shutting the windows until the tiny road was practically deserted. Still she pushed on, ignoring the biting cold as the wind lashed at her body, climbing higher and higher, the altitude making it hard for her to breathe. Her body felt ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion and just when she contemplated sitting down to rest, regardless if she froze to death, Cassandra looked up and through the thick blizzard could make out the massive temple that was no doubt the home of the League of Shadows.

Cassandra stood there for a moment in awe of the construction and the cold snapped her back to reality, forcing her to trudge up to the large oak doors and hammer on them with her fists. Thankfully, the doors opened slowly under her touch and she stepped inside the dark temple, bathed instantly in warmth and she sighed in relief, until a voice called out to her.

"Welcome home, my child."

-X-


	12. Legacy

Cassandra stood rooted to the spot, despite wanting to collapse, as the man slowly approached her, assassins flanking their sides, awaiting instructions. The man was tall and stocky, wearing the assassin robes and armour, a short sword across his back as he approached Cassandra with a small smirk. His hair was greying and there was not a kind feature about him, but Cassandra could see something of herself in him.

"It has been such a long time," David Cain grinned, "My, look at how you've grown. My dear, sweet daughter, you're almost an adult. And suddenly I feel so old"

"I…remember you," Cassandra said slowly, desperately fighting a losing battle against exhaustion, "Father. You're the reason why I left in the first place."

"And yet, you've found your way back to me," Cain said, circling his daughter, "Why?"

"Lady Shiva…she said I was born…to defeat her. I thought you might know why."

"Ah, so you've met your mother. Thought so, since I sent her after you."

At Cassandra's confused look, Cain chuckled, standing in front of her again.

"Your mother is one of the best martial artists in the world. Her body is the pinnacle of perfection. Not only can she read someone's body language and know what they're planning to do next, but she can control her own body so she feels no pain. A true powerhouse. But first, she needed moulding. So I killed her sister to set her on her path."

"What?" Cassandra cried. She had an aunt?

"She came to me for revenge," Cain continued, "But I offered her a deal instead. I believe that the most dangerous human is one who is made for killing from birth. That is how you came into this world, my daughter. You were meant to be the perfect human weapon…until you ran away and straight into the family of that traitor, Bruce Wayne!"

He lashed out with a kick and too weak from the climb, Cassandra was unable to defend herself, the breath leaving her when his foot slammed into her stomach and she tottered back until she fell to the ground and Cain picked her up by the front of her protective robes.

"Wayne betrayed the League so many years ago and now he has ruined the plans I had for you," Cain spat angrily, his fist crashing into Cassandra's face, "I hope you enjoyed your time with your new 'family', Cassandra, because you are never going to see them again!"

His next blow drew blood and fighting against the dizzying pain and exhaustion, Cassandra locked her legs around her father's head while holding onto his arm and dragged him to the floor, attempting to dislocate his arm. Due to her weakening condition, however, Cain was able to escape the grapple and get to his feet, as Cassandra stood up in a fighting stance, running on adrenalin. Cain grinned and moved for his daughter, the pair trading blows, with the elder able to exploit his daughter's weak condition and punish her with brutal blows until she was left bleeding on the floor, unable to get up due to her body being wracked with pain.

"I had plans for you," Cain said, regaining his composure, "But now that you've been ruined, like a lame horse, I have no more use for you. A shame that my plans went to waste. Take her outside," he ordered two assassins, "Leave her in the snow so she can suffer as she freezes to death. The rest of you, prepare to leave for Gotham City."

Adorned in warm, protective clothing, the two assassins picked Cassandra up by her arms and dragged her outside, taking her some distance away from the temple to leave her to the harsh conditions. Finding the strength to resist, Cassandra batted their hands aside, taking the two assassins completely by surprise as she flicked a pair of daggers out of her sleeves, stabbing one assassin in the hamstring and aimed at the other assassin's ribs. He narrowly deflected the blade, although it tore the cloth and Cassandra slugged him in the face, then impaled the dagger into his thigh. He cried out and Cassandra struck him in the throat, before going to the first assassin and placed pressure on his stabbed leg, fighting the overwhelming dizziness.

"What is my father planning?" she demanded.

"I'm not telling you a thing," the assassin replied defiantly.

Unable to fight the crushing darkness any longer, Cassandra gave in to it, her knee crashing into the assassin's face and knocking him out, as she fell into the abyss of unconsciousness.

-X-

"This is where those who are considered criminals can prosper and be free from the laws that bind those who can't live without order," Prometheus said to the crowd of criminals, "Living by no rules, living without the government enforcing their way of life upon you, is the only way to live. Welcome to Arkham City! Live without fear because there is no Huntress, there is no Batman, there are no heroes who can stop you from doing whatever you wish."

He stood on the front step of the former Arkham Asylum before the approving criminals, as firearms were passed around, thanks to the TYGER Forces. They were still meant to prevent anyone from escaping, as Prometheus believed Arkham City to be a utopia for the inmates, but other than that, TYGER had nothing else to worry about, leaving the criminals free to live however they wanted and if that meant killing each other to seize territory, then so be it. In Prometheus' eyes, life without law was the true way to live. It was all he'd own, ever since he was a child being raised by his criminal parents…until their lives had been taken away by a police officer before Prometheus' very eyes and he grew up swearing vengeance on authority and justice, a vow that had brought him to Gotham City to destroy its protectors, a job he had succeeded in completing.

"I have a position open for my enforcers and anyone who wishes to fill it will have to complete one task," Prometheus continued, "Mayor Sharp is now within these walls, courtesy of yours truly. Whoever brings me his body gets to join my circle."

The criminals all cheered and split up into their factions, all eager to find the Mayor and rend their revenge upon him, as Prometheus retreated back inside TYGER headquarters. No doubt word would get out about Arkham City being overrun by gun-toting criminals and the government would send in their own forces to seize back control, but Prometheus was already planning for that and he was thinking about a televised message to the government. Meanwhile, Batman spread his scarlet glider wings and flew away from Arkham Asylum, intending on finding Mayor Sharp before the inmates did.

"Batgirl, did you get that?" he asked into his com-link.

"Loud and clear," Batgirl replied, "The Birds of Prey and Red Robin are spreading throughout Arkham City. The church has also been seized and Deputy Commissioner Foley is making it a safe haven."

"Let's hope they have it ready in time."

Since leaving the infirmary, Terry had found out about Damian's condition, Helena's defeat and her subsequent disappearance and he took it upon himself to continue the fight against Prometheus, painfully aware that he couldn't take the man in a one-on-one fight and he also had no doubt even if it was six-on-one, Prometheus would still win. But now Terry was in a race against time to find not only Mayor Sharp, but also the other politicians who had been captured by Prometheus and thrown into Arkham City. Thankfully, the Birds of Prey had cleared out the small church that resided on the edge of Cook Avenue near the walls of Arkham City on the South City Park side; the church was to be used as a safe house/medical facility that was now being guarded by Deputy Commissioner Foley, along with any surviving police officers the Birds of Prey had managed to smuggle in.

Watching from a rooftop, Batman waited until a crook fell into his trap, a noose that held him suspended by his ankle and when the other inmates freaked out, Batman pressed the button on his jammer, rendering their assault rifles useless and with a smirk; he dropped and landed in the middle of the group, scaring them even further. They all tried to shoot, but their guns refused to work and Batman smashed his elbow into the face of the nearest crook, as another crook tried to use his rifle as a melee weapon. Wrenching it from his grasp, Batman struck him in the face, then smacked another criminal down, his boot smashing an inmate's knee and Batman quickly silenced him, before swiftly taking down the rest. At least now there was one less group hunting Mayor Sharp, as Batman resumed his search.

Meanwhile, Red Robin was searching in the southern end of Arkham City, when he heard the gunshot of a high-powered rifle. His heart stopped for a moment, believing that Mayor Sharp had just become a victim and he quickly headed in the direction of the gunshot.

"Anyone else hear that?" he asked.

"The gunshot?" Black Canary replied, "Yeah, I heard it too. I'm checking it out."

"I'll see you there then."

"If you're worried that Mayor Sharp was shot, don't," came Katana's voice, "I've found him. Starling and I are clearing out the crooks and then we're taking him to safety."

"Good work, girls," Batman said, "Red Robin and Black Canary, you two keep going with that gunshot. If someone is wielding a high powered rifle like that, we need to neutralise that person and fast."

Red Robin was the first on the scene, spotting the victim slump against a building wall, a bullet wound in his forehead and using the computer lenses to replay the trajectory of the bullet's path, he flew up to the rooftop, spying the discarded bullet shell. That was when he noticed the red dot on his chest and thinking quickly, he dived to his side, the bullet missing him by just inches and he spotted the shooter across the street. Dropping off the rooftop to avoid the next shot, Red Robin engaged his wings and flew over the street, using his grapple gun to reach the rooftop and throw a batarang at Deadshot. He staggered back and went to aim the sniper rifle again, but Red Robin batted it aside while elbowing him in the face. Dropping the rifle and whirling around, Deadshot activated his wrist-mounted pistol, only for Red Robin to deflect his shot, striking him in the ribs, then the thigh and finally the chin. Slinging him to the ground, Red Robin sought to remove the pistol, holding Deadshot in an arm lock, until a dagger pressed against his jugular, forcing him to let Deadshot go.

"Well, well, I wasn't expecting you, but you'll do," Duela crowed, holding Red Robin by the hair, as Deadshot got up and aimed his pistol, "Are you interested in playing a game? Keep in mind that if you say no, you'll die, along with the victims I have captured."

"Fine," Red Robin said, "What are the rules?"

There was a twinkle in Duela's eye as she smirked, "I can tell this is going to be quite fun!"

-X-


	13. Play the Game

The sounds of busy traffic slowly brought her out of the darkness and with a groan, Helena slowly opened her eyes, confusion running through her dazed mind as the ceiling came into focus, one that she didn't recognise. Her body felt sore, yet light and she gazed down to see that she in a tank top and slacks, her Huntress suit nowhere to be seen. Slowly moving into a seated position, Helena rubbed the sleep from her eyes, before realising that her arm was no longer dislocated. Whoever brought her here had not only strip her of her suit, but also put her arm back into place, all without waking her up, which meant she had been heavily dosed with some kind of tranquiliser. The last thing she could remember was defeat at the hands of Prometheus and that thought brought her shame, for she had never experienced defeat before. She had come close a few times, but always scraped through. This time, however…

But the real question was, how did she end up here? Who brought her here?

The answer soon arrived, bearing a tray of food and upon seeing him, Helena couldn't help the look of anger and shock.

"You?!"

"Good to see you're finally up," Jason Todd replied cheerily, as if she hadn't snarled at him, "Hungry?"

"You're the one who brought me here?" Helena questioned.

"Uh, yeah. I'm the one who saved your ass," Jason said, "How are you feeling?"

"Why? Why did you save me?"

"Because you were about to be killed. Look, I understand your reservations, Helena, but you have to face facts: you can't beat Prometheus. Your brother being in a coma should be enough to tell you that."

"So, what, you expect me to run away to wherever we are?" Helena asked, "Leave Gotham to suffer under Prometheus and I just turn my back?"

"One, we're in Hong Kong. Two, I brought you here because I figured you could use some help. You need to recover and there is someone who I think could help you beat Prometheus," Jason answered, "Gotham's had worst before. The city will be fine."

"Gotham needs me."

"You're no good to Gotham if you're dead. Just…Helena, stay here, recover and we can figure something out, alright?"

"What's in it for you, Jason? Why do you care all of sudden what happens to me or Gotham?" Helena demanded, "Did you scramble your brains in jail or something?"

"Eat something and when you're ready to talk instead of arguing, come downstairs," Jason said, leaving the tray on a small table and walking out of the room. Ever since he'd witnessed Helena's fight for survival against Doomslayer two years earlier, Jason had felt something for his enemy. It wasn't that he was in love with her or anything, God forbid, but he found his desire for revenge against her had subsided. Her fighting spirit was something to be truly admired, which he did, even if that did make him want to swan dive off a cliff.

"How is she?" Roy Harper asked, looking up from his quiver.

When he first escaped from Arkham City, Jason's first thought was to seek out Helena and obtain his revenge. However, he had run into her Justice League teammate instead and while Roy was tempted to return Jason back to Arkham City, the destruction of the police stations and subsequent decimations of the entire police force resulted in the two banding together to find the culprit. They had as much success as Helena did, until Nightwing had been put into hospital by Prometheus and with the others already been defeated, Jason figured that Prometheus would go after the Huntress. He proved to be right, arriving in time to save Helena from being killed, then took her on a private flight to Hong Kong, keeping her tranquilised so she could recover from the ordeal. The sight of Helena unconscious and defeated had worried Jason and he knew that she needed something more than her usual training if she ever hoped to beat Prometheus, hence why they were in Hong Kong.

"She's fine. Being her usual self," Jason replied.

"So she's already threatened to kill you?" Roy asked.

"Not yet, but give it a moment."

"So, you really think that your 'friend' could help Helena get the edge over this Prometheus guy?"

"It's worth a shot."

"Interesting. I don't know why we just call in Superman or Wonder Woman to help deal with him."

"Because we shouldn't have to be calling on those guys every time there's a crisis. We are capable of handling this and we will. Just give me time, Roy," Jason said, "I've got this."

"Alright then," Roy said, as Jason made his way out onto the balcony of their apartment.

-X-

Journalists had gathered together and hand-held recording devices were at the ready, as Prometheus and his band of mercenaries stood outside the heavy iron gates of Arkham City.

"I have gathered you together so the government knows that Arkham City now belongs to me and my fellow inmates," Prometheus announced, "There is no law within these walls and that is how it's going to stay. Food and other provisions shall carry on as usual, but if the government has any idea on storming in to stop me, I suggest otherwise. Even as we speak, my men are planting bombs around Gotham, all placed where they can cause the most destruction. Should you try and stop me, the bombs will go off and Gotham will be levelled. I also advise against sending in people like Superman or Wonder Woman. The second we know about the Justice League, Gotham will be levelled. They may be fast, but do you really wish to risk Gotham being burnt to the ground? Leave us be and Gotham will survive. That is your only option."

"What about the mayor?" a reporter asked, "Our sources state that he is inside Arkham City, along with several other senators. What's happened to the Huntress and the other vigilantes?"

"None of them are of your concern any longer," Prometheus replied, "The mayor needed to be removed and as for the Huntress, she is no more. We are here to stay."

With a wave of his hand, the super-prison's gates open and he went back inside with his mercenaries, leaving the journalists to process the news they had just been told, all realising that they were now on their own against this threat. No-one was going to save them this time.

-X-

"Now, the first game is very simple," Duela said, "There is someone of great importance down in the sewers. I've let her roam free, but I have men stationed at every exit to make sure she doesn't escape. You have to go down there and find her. The catch is that I have men down there looking for her too. So, you better hurry up and get to her first."

"Tell me, why didn't you just kill them when you caught them?" Red Robin asked, "You've never had a problem with that before."

"I get bored, I come up with ideas. Why, would you rather them to be dead instead?"

She grinned and motioned to the open manhole with her knife. Red Robin heaved a sigh and dropped down into the sewers.

"Watch out for alligators!" Duela called after him, "I hear they're nasty buggers!"

Landing in the sewers, Red Robin slapped a small device on the wall, as white lenses appeared over his eyes and he opened the computer on his left gauntlet. The device beeped, sending out sonar to map the surrounding area, while also alerting Red Robin if a person entered the zone, acting as a radar for him. The device also allowed Red Robin to track his steps so that he wouldn't get lost in the maze of tunnels. It was technology Tim had happened to come across, learning about its history when he was going through the Wayne Enterprises archives and it was something that Helena didn't know about. Given the previous use of the technology and how it could be abused, Tim knew it would be best to keep his discovery a secret, only using it in times like this.

Switching on the small, yet bright LED light on his mask, Red Robin set off through the tunnels, keeping a wary eye out for any of Duela's goons. Part of him wondered if Duela really did have a senator down here and she had him down here just for fun while she causes some kind of chaos, but Red Robin knew he couldn't take that chance. He checked the scanner, finding nothing out of the ordinary yet, as he placed another sonar device on the wall. If Duela's goons had a head start on him, then he knew he had to hurry and find the senator in time. Rushing through the sewers while tracking his progress, Red Robin soon came to a large cavern that held several of Duela's armed men, none of whom thankfully noticed him. Keeping to the shadows, Red Robin used his computer-gauntlet to scan the area for places where he could hide and strike from the darkness, already planning out a course of action. Grappling to the nearest vantage point, Red Robin waited for the right time before swooping into action, his boots slamming down onto a goon's head with enough force to knock him unconscious. Using the shadows to his advantage and with the element of surprise on his side, Red Robin strategically moved around the cavern, taking down the goons one by one, until one was left as a frightened, quivering mess.

"Where are you!" he shouted in desperation.

"Right here," Red Robin replied with a smirk.

The goon whirled around with a shout, but the gun was battered from his hands and Red Robin delivered a palm strike to the goon's chin, knocking him out cold. The room cleared, Red Robin placed a sonar device on the wall and continued on through the sewers, quickening his pace to make up for lost time. He came to an intersection and made a quick decision, regularly checking the computer for any signs of the lost senator when he heard the pleas for help. Spurring himself into action, Red Robin followed the voice, the cries getting louder and more desperate and he rounded the corner to find the senator trying to crawl away from a large-bodied man whose size seemed to fill the entire tunnel.

"Hey!" Red Robin shouted, snapping out his quarterstaff.

The giant clown turned around slowly with a maniacal grin and lifting his sledgehammer up, he charged at Red Robin with a battle cry, his size filling the sewer and giving Red Robin nowhere to move to avoid the pulverising weapon.

-X-


	14. Start the Training

AN: Just letting you know that while Jason will be helping Helena, there won't be any HelenaxJason. The ship is somewhat appealing, but since I don't completely follow it and I don't see as something that can last long-term, it won't be happening here...wow, who can Helena be with then?

-X-

Jason looked up when Helena joined him on the balcony and the first thing he noticed was that her hair was a lot shorter than before, a few of the ends uneven as if she had taken to it with a knife. Now her hair only just came down to her shoulders and she glanced at him quickly before looking away, but he caught the disappointment in her eyes. He knew she was beating herself up over her loss to Prometheus, the guilt of losing and leaving Gotham behind chewing away at her. The more noble they are, the harder they fall, Jason thought.

"Feel better?" Jason asked, "I like the new hairstyle. Very nice…and different. What made you want to do it?"

"It was time for a change," Helena replied, looking out at the busy traffic below, "Who is this person you say could help me?"

"She was the one who trained me after I left Africa," he answered.

"That's not very helpful then, considering I was able to beat you."

"Adorable, but how about you let me finish? Her name is Lady Shiva and she's very-"

"Lady Shiva?" Helena questioned, looking at him, "She was in Gotham the other week. In fact, she attempted to kill my sister. Actually succeeded, until she decided to revive Cassandra afterwards."

"Okay, yeah, well, she is an assassin-for-hire after all," Jason said, "But she is one of the best martial artists around and she has this uncanny ability to control her body so she doesn't feel any pain. And she can read a person's body language so she knows what they're planning next. It's creepy and awesome at the same time."

"And you think my sister's would-be killer can teach me that so I can beat Prometheus?"

"Your sister is still alive, so it's okay. Besides, what are you going to do otherwise?"

"Return to Gotham and put an end to Prometheus."

Jason shook his head, "Helena, you gotta think this through. Prometheus wiped the floor with you and you're already thinking of a rematch. Great plan. Let me know how it goes – oh wait, you'll be dead. Face it, Hel, you can't beat him unless you get the training Lady Shiva can offer you. What's the harm in trying?"

"My brother dies and Gotham burns to the ground while I'm training," Helena replied, "I refuse to let that happen."

"Just come with me to see her tonight. If you still feel that you don't need her training, feel free to go back to Gotham. Just don't expect me to save your ass again."

"There has to be something in it for you," Helena eyed him critically, "There's no way you're doing this out of the goodness of your own heart. And I doubt your sudden change of heart has anything to do with Roy being on the scene. What's going on, Jason? What game are you playing?"

"Prometheus is a bad guy. I kill bad guys. No game," Jason replied, "I swear on my own grave that I'm not playing you, Helena. I really am here to help."

"Well, I know your version of 'helping', so excuse me if I don't believe you," Helena said.

With that, she headed back inside the apartment, finding Roy practising his tai chi, his movements slow and precise, but rather be interested in the techniques, she instead grabbed him by the earlobe, earning herself a squawk of pain and surprise.

"Roy, a word. Outside."

He had no choice but to follow her out into the hallway and she dragged him down to the next floor so that Jason wouldn't be able to overhear them.

"What were you thinking in teaming up with Jason?" Helena demanded.

"Dire situations called for dire circumstances," Roy replied, unflinching from Helena's glare, "It was necessary, Helena, and Jason can be useful. He could be what you need. Look, I'm not saying you should trust him, but don't dismiss his help either. You're going to need all the help you can get and Jason is offering it."

Helena crossed her arms and bit her lower lip, thinking about her teammate's words.

"I need to go and clear my head," she finally said, "Don't wait up for me."

-X-

"You'll be safe here," Red Robin told the senator, guiding her towards the church.

"Thank you," she replied, "I don't understand why we were put in here. We haven't done anything wrong."

"Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this."

The senator made her way inside the church, the reinforced steel roller door coming down and Red Robin sighed, looking out towards Arkham City. His body felt sore from the close confines fight with a giant sledgehammer-wielding clown, but he managed to get away with the senator alive and bring her to safety. Now he could only wait and find out what Duela had in store for him next. As if on cue, his cell rang and Tim hesitated briefly, then answered.

"Hello?"

"Isn't this so much easier than me having to try and find you," came Duela's annoying voice, "I hacked into your cell and now I can tell you where my next intended victim is. Do you like bridges, Red Robin? You'll find a lying politician hanging around there, but I would hurry. I don't know how much longer he'll last before he becomes shark food."

"Let me guess, you're not going to tell me which bridge it is," Red Robin guessed.

Duela cackled, "Where would be the fun if I did tell you?"

"Goodbye, Duela."

Engaging the glider wings, Red Robin flew up to the rooftops and immediately headed towards the nearest bridges, hoping to find the senator in time. Reaching the edge of the Narrows, Red Robin engaged the heat scanner in his mask, spotting several armed criminals loitering on the bridge, but no sign of any prisoners, even with the heat vision.

"Red Robin, where are you?" Batgirl asked, "We've been calling you for a while now."

"I'm good, guys," Red Robin replied, "Just wrapped up in something right now."

"Is it to do with that sniper?"

"You could say that. Sorry, I have to go, but I'll check in periodically."

"Alright," was Batgirl's resigned reply.

Just as communications ended, a gunshot rang out, followed by a moment later by a loud splash and Red Robin quickly flew into action, gliding over the river until he found the politician treading water, his hands bound behind his back and Red Robin dived into the water. Gripping the politician, Red Robin then fired his grappling gun and rose up from the water until they landed on a rooftop and he used the blades on his gauntlet to slice through the ropes, noticing that the politician was covered in streaks of blood.

"Thank you so much," the politician spluttered, "That crazy woman…she tied me up, then dumped buckets of blood on me and suspended me from the bridge."

"Don't worry, you're safe now," Red Robin said, looking out towards the rooftops, having no doubt that it had been Deadshot who fired the bullet.

-X-

"Helena Wayne," Lady Shiva greeted, before turning around, "I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"I wish I could say the feeling was mutual," Helena said, "But considering what you did to my sister, just be thankful that I'm not returning the favour."

Lady Shiva smirked, "I'm an assassin and I do what I'm paid to do."

"So why did you revive Cassandra then?"

"Aren't you here for some training? Given that you were defeated back home?"

"I'll be over here," Jason said, pointing to the corner.

Lady Shiva's training shack was located on the docks of Hong Kong, the furthest from the traffic where she would be least disturbed, the walls of her shack sound-proof to aid in her solitude. Although she had many bases around the world, supplied by her vast income due to her life as an assassin, this shack in Hong Kong was Lady Shiva's personal favourite.

"So, you're the daughter of Bruce Wayne, Ra's al Ghul's favourite student," Lady Shiva said, circling Helena, "Until he betrayed the League. Also the man who is playing father to my dear daughter, Cassandra."

"Cassandra is your daughter?" Helena cried, incredulously, "And yet you still tried to kill her?"

She whirled around with her fist snapping out towards Lady Shiva's face, but the assassin calmly blocked her move, before shoving her back.

"I'm an assassin first, a destructive human being second and a mother never," Lady Shiva replied, deflecting Helena's next few strikes and with a backhand, sent her reeling to the floor, "Of course, I didn't learn the truth myself until after our little encounter, but minor details. I do hope that her little 'death' experience has awoken some of her killer instinct."

"You stay the hell away from my sister," Helena growled, lashing out with a high kick.

Lady Shiva caught her ankle and kicked her other ankle, flooring her.

"You can't protect her, Helena, just like how you couldn't protect your brother."

Filled with anger, Helena pressed her attack, but Lady Shiva smirked with all the calmness in the world and easily parried her moves, landing her own in places that could spark the most pain and by the time Helena realised she'd been goaded into fighting with anger, it was too late, as Lady Shiva delivered the coup de grâce, landing a powerful kick on the side of Helena's head that floored her once more. Jason started for her, but reigned himself in, sitting back in the corner as the memories of something similar came back to him. This was how he was trained, fighting against Lady Shiva and getting knocked unconscious as a way to learn his training. Sure enough, Lady Shiva was standing over Helena as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness, much in the same way as she did with Jason.

"You can't fight with anger," Lady Shiva was saying, "It gets you nowhere."

That was the last thing Helena remembered before she gave in to the darkness once more.

-X-


	15. Once Upon A Dream

"The last of the senators are now at the safe house," Starling reported.

"Good work girls," Terry replied, "Stay on patrol. Gotham's biggest criminals are on the loose, so keep an eye out. I wouldn't put it past any of them to stage an escape."

"Got it. Birds of Prey over and out."

The com-link went dead and Terry let out a slow sigh, resting atop a building that overlooked the majority of the Narrows and he could see the former Arkham Asylum in the distance. His body was starting to tire from the constant fighting in the attempt to stop Arkham City from spiralling into disaster. With firearms now amongst the criminals, gangs were forming and starting to wage war upon each other, the territorial battle now heating up. Gangsters like the aged Penguin and the eccentric Ventriloquist were fighting a battle for control of Arkham City and the TYGER Security Forces seemed quite content to sit back and allow it to happen. No doubt that Prometheus had seized control of TYGER and therefore told them to refrain from getting involved, only there to keep the inmates from escaping.

Preparing himself for another round of gruelling battles, Terry stood up and was about to drop off the building when he noticed a small red dot on his chest. It was barely noticeable against the scarlet bat insignia, but it was there and realising what it was, Batman quickly dropped, the bullet zinging past and narrowly missing him. Spreading his scarlet glider wings, Batman activated the jets and shot towards the opposite building, using his grapple gun to reach the rooftop, firing another grapple to hook Deadshot around the ankle and pull him to the ground. Deadshot whirled around, his wrist pistols snapping out and fired, the force of the bullets enough to nearly knock Batman onto his back, but he held his ground, as Deadshot got to his feet, pistols aimed at his opponent.

"Normally I would ask if there is a reason why you tried to kill me, but knowing you, Floyd, there usually isn't a reason," Batman said, "Regardless, I'm taking you down."

"Sure, you could do that, but someone else will just take my place," Deadshot said, "Face it, Bats, you're outgunned. Sooner rather than later, you and your friends are going to burn out, but we will remain strong. You can't win against us."

"I like your optimism, but you are so far from the truth."

"Really? I heard what happened to the Huntress. How Prometheus beat her down and how he disposed of her like she was just a toy. Then again, I'm not surprised, considering I nearly killed her myself, but to hear how he crushed her…it fills me with such joy."

Batman growled in his throat, restraining himself from closing the gap and beating Deadshot unconscious, mainly because it wouldn't be as satisfying as he initially thought, but also because of the marksman's dual guns.

"Now, time for you to go bye-bye, Bats," Deadshot grinned.

Before he could fire, however, Batman flung his arm up, discs launching from his wrists and slamming into Deadshot, throwing off his aim. Taking advantage of the distraction, Batman slammed into Deadshot, the pair falling from the rooftop to the road below, but at the last moment, Batman used his grapple gun to slow their descent. He dropped Deadshot and booted him in the face, knocking him unconscious, before noticing a group of TYGER Forces soldiers slowly approaching him, their guns trained on him.

"Boys. Mind lowering the guns. I'd feel a little less threatened," Batman greeted.

"We've located Batman," the lead soldier spoke into his com-link, "Orders?"

"Bring him to me," Prometheus ordered, "I still have a few lessons to teach him."

"Understood," the leader confirmed, then spoke to Batman, "Alright, Bat-freak, hands up."

"We're on the same side here," Batman said, even though he raised his hands, "But I guess you're just doing your jobs. I also have a job to do."

A small stick was ejected from his gauntlet into his hand and he pressed the button, emitting a high-pitched soundwave that brought the TYGER soldiers to their knees in agony, allowing Batman to ascend to the rooftops, far from their reach. He watched as they recovered from the soundwave and immediately began searching for him.

"This is Batman," he spoke into the com-link, "Everyone, be careful around TYGER Forces. They have been ordered to arrest us on sight."

"Well, that complicates things," Black Canary replied, "Give it time and it'll be shoot to kill on sight."

"Let's hope that's not happening any time soon," Batman said, "Batman out."

-X-

Helena opened her eyes and found herself lying in bed; however, the room was not she expected: her old bedroom in Gotham, the same one she used to share with Jesse. Slowly sitting up, she found that she was wearing her Huntress suit, sans mask, and that her hair was back to its former length, as she rose up from the bed and left the room. Coming out into the living room, she saw the TV was on, but she couldn't make out what was showing, as a noise came from the kitchen. Readying herself, Helena walked into the kitchen, a smile coming to her when she saw Jesse standing before her, the smile being reciprocated.

"Hey, beautiful," Jesse greeted.

"Hey yourself," Helena replied, "How come you're not in uniform?"

"It's my day off. What happened to you, Helena? Have you lost your way?"

Helena frowned, "I don't know what you mean."

"Prometheus. You've faced down threats like the Talons and Doomsday. How did one guy get the drop on you?" Jesse asked.

She shrugged, "I guess he was better than me. No two ways about it."

"Maybe because you've lost your passion and you replaced it with anger."

Helena sighed, "Damian's in a coma. Of course I was angry. I allowed it to control me. I've always had a grip on it, but not this time. But I haven't lost my passion for the Huntress."

_"I wonder if there is even a need for the Huntress anymore_," Jesse echoed her words, "There is always a need for the Huntress. You give people hope, hope that they'll never have to be afraid again. Face it; you're an inspiration, Helena. You were always mine."

A blush came across Helena's cheeks, "I know this is a dream, but it's always nice to hear that. I've missed you, Jesse. I think a part of me died with you and I tried to replace you with Kyle, but I couldn't. If I have lost any passion, your death is the reason why."

"Don't let my death ruin your life forever," Jesse said, pulling her into his arms, "There is someone out there for you. Our time simply wasn't meant to be."

"This is a dream, right? Feels like one. If it is, it's a good dream, so let's not waste it talking about the possibility of someone else. Let's just leave it as you and me."

"What about Prometheus? You know you have to face him again someday."

"I don't know if I can beat him," Helena admitted softly.

"That sounds ridiculous. You're a fighter, Helena, you always have been," Jesse said, "You fight for what you believe in and you're passionate about it. Don't lose that."

"Why can't we stay like this forever?" Helena wondered, holding him close.

"Because we can't."

She drew back, her face a look of horror when she saw the bullet holes in his chest. Jesse appeared nonplussed about the wounds, even as he collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling in the back of his head, a pool of blood spreading across the kitchen floor. Helena tried to stop the bleeding, putting her hands over the wounds, but the blood kept flowing.

"Jesse! No!" Helena cried.

"Don't lose it," Jesse said, despite his fatal appearance.

"Helena, wake up!" a voice cried sharply.

Helena's eyes snapped open to see Jason before her and the sudden surprise had her shoving him back as she realised that she was awake and in the real world, as Jason sighed in relief.

"Finally. I thought Shiva had really knocked you out cold, but I guess you were having a nightmare instead, what with all the shouting," Jason said, "We'll resume again tomorrow."

"No, we'll keep going," Helena said, getting up from the bed, "I have a job to do and Shiva is the person who can help me do it."

She stormed from the room, as Jason let out another sigh.

"What got into her all of a sudden?"

-X-

Red Robin arrived at the apartment block, noting the clown graffiti painted on the walls, before he kicked in the doors and marched inside, finding himself instantly surrounded by numerous goons. Acting on instinct, Red Robin threw the first punch, igniting a fight and despite the numbers, he easily held his own, beating them down until a gunshot rang out.

"Welcome to the party," Duela grinned, "I see you got my invitation."

It was then that Red Robin noticed the goons were actually wearing party hats. They were now standing back and he looked around the lobby, spying the aged Penguin and the deranged Ventriloquist standing on the second floor, overlooking the proceedings and he finally caught sight of what was the centre attraction.

"You have an electric chair?" Red Robin questioned, "What game is this?"

"This game is called 'How Many People Will I Kill Before Red Robin Sits Down'," Duela replied, motioning to the group of senators and police officers, including Foley, "Nice plan with the safe house. Good thing we found it, aka followed you, otherwise this game wouldn't work without some innocent victims. So, Red Robin, what will it be? Electric chair or blood on your hands? You only have fifteen seconds to decide."

"This is madness," Red Robin cried.

"Yes, well, this is me we're talking about," Duela said, before shooting at a senator, but nothing happened.

"So, you were only bluffing," Red Robin said, reaching for a batarang.

"No, I just forgot to put a round in that chamber."

She fired again and the senator keeled over, a bullet hole in his chest and blood coating the floors, as Duela then turned her gun to Red Robin with a wide smirk on her face.

"Decisions, decisions, Red Robin and we don't all have the time in the world. Step up and be a man, save some lives, even if yours hangs in the balance."

"Alright, fine, Duela. You win," Red Robin said.

He raised his hands and approached the electric chair, an uneasy look on his face, as Duela got impatient and cocked her revolver again as a warning. Red Robin sat down, as a goon placed a blanket over his head, another adding a wet sponge and the headpiece and a third goon strapped down Red Robin's wrists and ankles.

"Alright now, let the bidding begin," Duela grinned, motioning to the former mob bosses.

-X-


	16. Start the Bidding

"Five million to see Red Robin barbequed," Penguin grinned sinisterly.

"Ten million," Scarface growled, "I want him on a spit!"

"Don't listen to the dummy. Twenty million."

"Ooh, twenty million," Duela grinned, "Makes me tingle. Thirty million sounds better and it really gets me going. Do I hear thirty million?"

"Just fry him already!" a goon shouted and was promptly shot in the chest.

"I'm bidding," Duela said, "Shut up."

"Twenty-five and you can fry him," the Penguin offered, "I want his head on a stick though."

"Done and done. See, Red Robin, it's not all that bad. These good people can live and your life is worth at least twenty-five million dollars. Comforting, isn't it? Flick the switch!"

Nothing happened and Duela frowned, turning to the person in charge.

"Are you deaf? I said flick it!"

"I did," the crook protested, "There must be something wrong with the circuit."

"Like the power has been cut to this building?" someone suggested.

Duela whirled around, using her jaw to stop Batgirl's fist and the gun was taken from her as a kick was slammed into her midsection. The inmates started for Batgirl, but a high pitched sonic scream convinced them otherwise, paralysing them as the Birds of Prey burst into the lobby, taking advantage of the inmates' stunned states. The Penguin turned to make his exit, only to find himself confronted by Batman.

"The bidding's over, Cobblepot," Batman said, "Time for you to return to jail."

"Never!" Penguin cried defiantly.

He opened his trademark umbrella, ready to fill Batman with bullets. However, the umbrella was seized from his hands, which were promptly cuffed behind his back and the Penguin cursed his age for his slow reflexes. With one former mob boss taken care of, Batman checked the lobby for the other, finding the Ventriloquist making a run for the exit. Extending his wings, Batman glided down and booted the Ventriloquist to the ground. In desperation, the Ventriloquist swung Scarface around and aimed the machine gun, but Batman drilled a kick against the puppet's head, knocking it aside. Due to having its head severed once before by Superman, Scarface's neck wasn't very sturdy despite many attempts to repair the damage and as a result, his head went flying once again. The Ventriloquist cried out in shock and horror, but his cries didn't last long due to Batman knocking him out with a single blow, before returning to the fight at hand. Belting aside any criminal who crossed his path and leaving the others for the Birds of Prey, Batman joined Red Robin and removed the headpiece, before undoing the straps. Meanwhile, Batgirl slammed a kick against Duela's stomach, throwing her to the ground, then engaged the punch blades and charged them with electricity, prepared to deliver further blows to the Joker's daughter. Duela, however, slapped her hand against Batgirl's bare jaw, the shock buzzer sparking and throwing Batgirl onto her back.

"These party tricks sure come in handy," Duela said, retrieving her gun and pointing it at Batman, "Step away from the bird, Batsy. I'm not finished with him yet."

Starling was in the midst of fighting inmates and she looked towards the electric chair, before taking careful aim with her handgun and pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through Duela's wrist and she dropped the gun in shock and pain, as Batgirl slapped a device to her chest from behind, strapping it across her back and out of her reach.

"You are finished with him. In fact, you're finished yourself, Duela," she said.

The device was activated, firing two grappling hooks upwards at forty-five degrees, while a third was fired straight down into the floor. Spearing the ceiling, the device then rappelled, hoisting Duela up until she was hanging helpless in mid-air.

"At least the view from up here is spectacular," Duela drawled.

With Red Robin now free, he joined the others in defeating the inmates and saving the politicians, taking them back to the safe house. With the Birds of Prey now on guard duty to prevent further kidnappings and Batman going on another patrol, Red Robin and Batgirl decided to have some time to themselves.

"You okay?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm fine," Tim replied, clenching her hand, "I never doubted you guys."

"I was just so worried when I saw you in that chair. I'm just glad we cut the power in time. I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't."

Tim smiled and drew her close, planting a small kiss on her lips and she reciprocated.

"Don't worry, nothing's going to take me away from you," he said, "Til death do we part."

"Gotta make it official first," Stephanie smiled, before kissing him again.

-X-

Helena blocked the fist coming for her ribs and narrowly avoided the swipe at her head, throwing her own punch, which Lady Shiva easily stopped, before putting Helena into an arm lock and dropped her to the floor, putting pressure onto her arm.

"You're not trying hard enough, Helena," Shiva stated plainly as if she was talking about the weather, "I'm starting to feel like I'm wasting my time."

Fighting through the pain, Helena gritted her teeth and pushed up against Shiva, trying to ease the pressure on her arm, then rolled over towards Shiva, Since the assassin was on one knee, Helena hooked her arm around Shiva's raised leg, then swung her legs up to wrap around Shiva's neck, locking her ankles together. Off-balance, Shiva was thrown aside and got up with a small smile, as Helena stood with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Nicely done. Perhaps you are learning something," Shiva said.

"What can I say? I'm a fast learner," Helena said.

"Then show me what you've learnt."

Jason watched as the two fought, Shiva trying to destroy her opponent, countering Helena's moves with ease, while Helena was fighting to get through Shiva's tight defences. However, she was adapting to the assassin's style, learning how to defend against Shiva's devastating counters. Helena also noted that Shiva's style was not dissimilar to Prometheus' technique and she thought back to when Prometheus stated that he knew the fighting styles of at least thirty martial art masters.

"You're adapting, but it's not enough," Lady Shiva said, parrying Helena's fist and throwing her own, "I can read your body. I know your next move before you do."

"Funny, I remember someone telling me that," Helena said, catching Shiva's fist within her own, "You wouldn't happen to know a guy named Prometheus, do you?"

A split-second hesitation and Helena capitalised, her fist slamming into Shiva's jaw. Jason let out a low whistle of appreciation and Shiva chuckled in amusement to herself, wiping away the blood, as Helena stood in a relaxed posture.

"Prometheus? Yes, I know him. Probably the only person to have come close to defeating me. Of course, that's only because he has stolen the other masters' abilities rather than learn himself."

"How?" Jason asked.

"His helmet," Shiva replied without looking at him, "It has the technology to read someone's body language and act accordingly. It can also store information, such as abilities, hence why he is so dangerous. I am dangerous, the best martial artist in the world. He is-"

"Better, but only because of his helmet," Helena said, "How do you know this?"

"When upon defeat, you want to know about your opponent. Learn all that you can. Considering I am at the pinnacle of human perfection, I wanted to know how he could beat me. A rematch with him, however, is futile. And I have better things to deal with. Now, shall we continue?"

Helena nodded and entered the fight once more, although she was processing all this new information on the one person who had managed to defeat her in battle.

-X-

"Okay, it's simple," Jason said as they walked down the streets of Hong Kong, "We go back to Gotham, take Prometheus' helmet and we'll be good."

"It's not going to be that simple," Helena replied, her body aching from the training, "But you were right: Shiva proved to be helpful. But we won't leave right away. I think I need to spend a few more days here. I need to learn all I can while I can."

"I know you're a fast learner, Helena, but it took me three years."

"That's because you're stubborn and you refuse to listen and learn."

"Ha, ouch," Jason said, a hand over his heart in mock pain, "I'm a slow learner, but I eventually catch on. That and I've been hanging out with Roy lately. He's not as uptight as you, since he knows how to have fun, but he's also quite disciplined. Been keeping me on the straight and narrow."

"And jail didn't?" Helena questioned.

"I never felt like I was in prison or that I was being punished. If anything, prison was like my normal life, always fighting for survival and sometimes habits die hard. But I'm trying to get past that."

There was a commotion near one of the night market's stalls, a shout and a young man was sprinting from the crowd, clutching a purse to his chest. He was rushing straight towards Jason and Helena, the two responding by stepping aside as if to create a path for the purse-snatcher, but at the last second, they both flung their arms out, clothes-lining the purse-snatcher. With the purse's owner and authorities closing in on the injured man, Jason and Helena continued walking as if they hadn't foiled a snatching at all.

"Really?" Helena continued their conversation like nothing happened, "Prove it."

"Okay, Hong Kong has numerous crime families. It's why thing like that attempted snatching happened. Corruption exists and people suffer. Roy has been working out the head figures of each family, where they live, where they meet, how many members there are, that sort of thing. We were planning to make our move, but we could use an extra hand."

"Very well," Helena said, "I'll join you. But no killing or you'll be going to jail with them."

"Scout's honour," Jason said, even doing the salute, "Just a lot of hurting."

"Not even that."

"Spoilsport."

Helena glared at him, but Jason simply smirked at her as they headed back home.

-X-


	17. The Hong Kong Mission

The heartbeat monitor was steady, as always, until it hit an elevated note, signalling that the patient was starting to awaken. His eyes flickered momentarily, then slowly opened against the harsh glare of the white hospital lights. He glanced around wildly, trying to ascertain where he was, why he couldn't really move his body, when a familiar face appeared.

"You're awake," Stephanie smiled, "That's great."

"W…wh…what hap…happened?" Damian struggled to speak.

At that, Stephanie's face turned sad, "Prometheus threw you off a rooftop and you hit your head on the landing. You've been in a coma for a while now."

"Where's…He…Helena?"

Stephanie bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say, as Damian darted his eyes around the room from his confined position, trying to catch a glimpse of his older sister.

"Where…is she?"

"I don't know," Stephanie admitted softly, "Prometheus got to her and we haven't seen her since."

Damian closed his eyes, feeling an ache in his chest at those words. He prayed it wasn't true, that his sister hadn't fallen victim to Prometheus, but one look at Stephanie's face confirmed it and he wished he hadn't woken up. If Helena was indeed gone, Damian didn't know what he would do. He did, however, feel the urge to find Prometheus and pulverise him, but being confined to the bed wasn't going to help him achieve that goal any time soon.

"I'm sure she's okay though," Stephanie tried to reassure him, "She's a tough girl."

Damian could only think how alone he was right now with both sisters gone from his life and in a rare display of emotion, a single tear escaped his eye and ran down his cheek.

-X-

The Flaming Swan crime family was one of Hong Kong's five most powerful and dangerous crime families, with their fingers in arms and drug dealing, prostitution and corruption, virtually anything that could increase their wealth, power and influence. Tonight, the major heads of the family had gathered together at one of their safe penthouses, gazing over Hong Kong as they discusses future plans in regards to their power and their oppositions. Although they had surrendered their weapons at the door in order to have a peaceful meeting, the Flaming Swan felt safe and secure in their impenetrable penthouse, which was kept under heavy guard; that and they had bought out the police, so there was no need to worry about their interference.

They didn't expect someone to already be there, waiting for them.

Having ditched her Huntress suit in favour of a tank top, tight pants, high boots, a leather coat and a domino mask with finned upper corners, Helena was silently moving throughout the building, having disabled the security systems and taking down the guards one by one. With the guards disabled and locked in a room, Helena made her way towards the penthouse. She took a deep breath, hearing the family heads discuss their plans, and she pressed a button on her belt, killing the lights and neutralising communications. The penthouse was plunged into darkness and hearing their shouts of confusion, Helena slipped inside, activating the night vision in her mask, seeing the crime family with absolute clarity. It had been a while since she fought a large group like this, but it was like riding a bike. You never forget.

Moving to the nearest gangster standing away from the group, Helena placed him in a sleeper hold, then moved his unconscious body out of the way. Tiny lights flashed to life and Helena moved into action, dispatching the men with ease. They shouted in surprise in their own language, catching glimpses of Helena in their phone lights as she moved through them like a wraith. The lights disappeared one by one as their owners were taken down, until only Helena was left standing in the penthouse. The room was a wreck, bodies were everywhere and she proceeded to drag them all together so she could tie them up. Once done, Helena return to the records system and retrieved the memory card, which now contained the names of the police officers on the Flaming Swan's payroll. While the records had been heavily encrypted and highly difficult to obtain, the system had been no match for Helena's hacking codes, devised by her mother to be able to break into nearly anything.

Making her way out of the building and stashing her mask into a pocket, Helena entered the busy streets and headed towards the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, Jason was at the home of the Steel Gates crime family, which was situated near the ocean in a variety of warehouses, all remodelled on the inside to reflect their wealth and power. Dressed in a black bullet-proof vest, dark pants, heavy boots and his Red Hood helmet, Jason was loaded with numerous weapons, including firearms and ammunition and he was ready for action. Although, he kept relaying Helena's words about not killing a single one, despite his better judgement. He knew that if he let a single one live, the Steel Gates would continue to operate in some form, but Helena said otherwise and as much as he would love trying to sway Helena to his way of thinking, he knew it was a lost cause. She had an impenetrable will and it was impossible to reason with her when she set her mind to something. That and she had proven herself capable of handing his ass to him. Besides, wasn't this the whole point of Jason setting off onto a new path, as suggested by Arsenal, and refrain from killing even though every fibre of his body told him it was the right way.

Why the hell was he trying to impress Helena?! Blackgate had a way of doing a number on someone…he better focus if he wanted to take down the Steel Gates and started to collect his thoughts, as the first of the limousines pulled up and refined gangsters piled out, making their way inside the warehouse. Red Hood waited until he was sure that everyone had arrived, watching from his position atop a warehouse, out of sight from the guards posted on nearby rooftops, before hitting a button on his belt. The power to the warehouse was cut and without wasting a moment, he activated the helmet's night-vision and took down the guards stationed outside, then moved into the warehouse, laser dot sights gleaming on his handguns. There were shouts of surprise, especially when he started shooting, bullets tearing through the gangsters' arms and legs as he looked to incapacitate, not kill. Several gangsters decided to fight back, shooting their own guns wildly into the darkness and Red Hood took cover, lest a random bullet caught him.

Skittering around for another attacking point, Red Hood continued his assault, shouts of pain echoing in the warehouse and he made sure to stay on the move, knowing that his laser dots made him a target for anyone capable of keeping a level head in this pandemonium. Apart from beating down any thugs who came too close, Red Hood barely countered any resistance and after ten minutes of anarchy, the only sounds he heard were groans of pain and he flicked the lights back on, revealing the bloodied scene before him. They were all still alive, some of them barely, but that was the important thing, despite Jason's misgivings.

_"Alright, Helena, I played by your rules. Let's see who's right in the end."_

-X-

Firing off an arrow, Arsenal took down the last of the Clan Fang crime family and checked his surroundings, making sure that everyone in the family were accounted for. Satisfied, he retrieved his memory card of criminal information from their computer systems and left the premises, intending to meet up with Helena and Jason and hand in their information to the police. Hopefully, it could help in removing the gangs and corrupted police from Hong Kong and if successful, it was one more thing for Roy to be proud of. Since joining the Justice League and receiving his freedom thanks to them, he had been tireless in his quest to protect the innocent and battle crime wherever it appeared, even if it was halfway across the world.

However, he was on his way to the rendezvous point when his earpiece picked up a message.

"This is Green Lantern," came Kyle's voice, "I'm requesting anyone who knows anything about the Huntress' location to immediately reply. It is of the highest importance-"

"This is Arsenal," Roy quickly interrupted, "The Huntress is with me. We're in Hong Kong."

"What the hell are you guys doing over there? Don't you know about the problem in Gotham?"

"We do, but we need time before we can launch a counterattack. What seems to be the problem, apart from the obvious?"

"I just got a call from her mother and it's not good news. It involves Helena's father."

Dread swept through Arsenal, "What is it?"

Kyle took a moment before replying, "He had a heart attack. He's in hospital in Rome now. Mrs. Wayne contacted the Watchtower in desperation, looking for Helena."

"I'm on my way to meet with her. I'll tell her."

Breaking into a run, Arsenal slipped through the back-alleys and small streets until he reached the rendezvous point, where he found Helena and Jason waiting. The former turned towards him, a small smile appearing, but just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone the moment she saw his harried face.

"Roy, what's the matter?" Helena asked.

"I just got a call from your mother via Kyle in the Watchtower," Roy explained, then hesitated, unsure how to break the news to her, but she _had_ to know, "Your father's in hospital. He had a heart attack."

Helena froze at hearing those words, her own heart momentarily stopping in her chest and without thinking twice, she made to leave the area while fighting back tears.

"Where are you going?" Jason asked, stopping her.

"Where do you think?" Helena snapped, her voice thick with emotion, "I'm going to Rome to be with my father."

"What about the crime families? What about your training with Lady Shiva."

"It doesn't matter. My father does. Now get out of my way before I break your ribs. Again."

"I'll handle the gangs," Roy offered, "Then, if you like, I can join you guys in Rome."

"Okay, fine, whatever," Jason said to Roy, then turned to Helena, "I'm coming with you."

She glared daggers at him for a moment, then was gone with a swish of her coat, as Jason sighed and looked at Roy, who simply shrugged.

"You wanted to go with her," he said, "So, don't look at me like that. Off you go."

"Very helpful, Roy," Jason muttered under his breath as he stalked after Helena.

-X-

AN: Not long until Helena returns to Gotham. Not long until the end either.


	18. Going Home

Selina slowly opened her eyes, her body aching from the position she had slept in, hunched over the hospital bed while seated by its side, her husband's hand held tightly in her eyes and she gazed her eyes over him, noting that both his breathing and the heart monitor were steady and he looked very peaceful in his sleep. Her back ached in protest when she straightened and yawned, catching sight of the time as she did. Only four hours sleep, but Selina had had less and in worst conditions in her time. Bruce's condition was of great importance and she had to make sure that he was going to live before thinking about herself. It was something her younger self would never have done, but that just showed how much she had changed by being by Bruce's side after all these years, raising two children and a third, adopted child.

Thinking of which…

Selina instantly thought of her children, including Cassandra since she counted, and the problem they were facing in Gotham right now, the reason why she was sitting beside her husband in a hospital. They had seen the recording from Gotham of a man called Prometheus who had taken over the Arkham City prison, proclaiming that he had defeated the Huntress and her allies and that they were no more. Sure enough, subsequent records came in that while Batman and Red Robin had been spotted around Arkham City, there had not been a single sign of the Huntress, Nightwing or Black Bat anywhere and Selina's heart grew heavy for the fate of her children. Bruce had gotten himself so worked up about the situation, heavily distraught and attempting to go back to Gotham, possibly donning the suit again, when he had the heart attack. Selina felt that with Helena and Damian's disappearance that Bruce was reliving the memories of his time in the Pit following Bane's assault, when she had believed him to be dead…and now she was hoping that the same fate hadn't been dealt to her children.

"Mom?"

Slowly, Selina turned around, initially disbelieving, but she knew in her heart that it wasn't a dream, for her daughter stood there in the doorway, a distraught look on her face when her eyes fell upon her father and Selina was out of her chair and hugging Helena. The younger Wayne felt relief in her mother's arms, reliving memories of when she was young and found solace in her mother's arms whenever she was frightened.

"We feared the worst," Selina barely whispered, tears slipping free, "That vile man, Prometheus…we thought you were dead."

"I thought so too," Helena said, "Damian is in a coma. I don't know for how long. At least Cassandra is okay, I think. She left town looking for answers to her past."

She took a deep breath and glanced at her bedridden father again, "How is he?"

"The doctor said he will be fine, but to keep it easy for him," Selina replied, "Keep him from stressing out and triggering another one. I think it would be best if you talk to him, Helena. I like the new haircut, by the way," Selina added, fingering Helena's shortened locks, which had been evened up, thanks to Jason.

She broke from her daughter and Helena sat by her father's side, taking his hand in hers. Selina decided to give them some privacy and stepped outside the room, only to come face-to-face with Jason.

"Oh, um…hi," Jason said awkwardly.

"You must be Jason," Selina said coolly, all traces of an upset wife gone, "I've heard about you. My favourite part is where Helena beat you unconscious and put you in jail. What are you doing out and about with my daughter?"

"I'm here to help," Jason said, unable to look at Selina due to her glare. He was afraid of no one, but there was something about her glare that unnerved him, "Wow…this is awkward."

"Good," Selina said.

Inside the room, Bruce slowly opened his eyes when he felt his daughter's hand and he turned to her, a smile of relief and happiness overcoming him, one that Helena returned.

"It's good to see you, sweetheart," he said, "I was worried about you."

"So I heard," Helena said.

"How's Damian? And Cassandra?"

"They're…fine. It was just me that Prometheus got to. I just…I simply couldn't beat him. He was too strong for me. I couldn't fight him."

"We all have that one person who is our equal in nearly every way," Bruce said, "Someone who becomes our match. I have met mine. It's what we do afterwards that defines us. Remember, you are never defeated unless you give up, even when you have been beaten."

Helena smiled weakly, "Yes, but as I recall, your equal had a weakness. Mine…doesn't."

"And are you going to let that stop you, Helena? I used my defeat to give myself the strength to face Bane again and defeat him. And I know you have that same fire, that same passion inside you. You are not a quitter, Helena, and you never will be. Not as long as I live."

"I know. I just don't know if I'm ready. I'm unsure if I can beat Prometheus. I mean, after all that I've faced in the past, how can I be worried about one man?"

"That's your fear talking," Bruce said, "Use it, just like I did. And you will triumph in the end, Helena. I know you will. I always have faith in you, my child."

Instead of replying, Helena drew her father into a hug as best as she could and he pressed a kiss to her cheek, not wishing to voice the fear he had for his daughter.

"I think I'm gonna go back to Gotham," Helena said, drawing back from her father, "And I'm going to set things right."

"Before you do, go to the family home," Bruce said, "I have something for you there."

-X-

"So, your mom seems…uh…pretty cool," Jason said, "And scary."

"She's really nice once you get to know her," Helena said.

"Uh-huh. And your dad's friend, the one he's known for thirty years? He doesn't look much older than me. And his wife looks to be your age."

"What, Clark and Diana Kent? They just have really good genes. Ah, here we are."

They were in the Wayne Manor library room and Helena played a few keys on the piano, the same notes she would have to play back home to access the Batcave and sure enough, a panel opened in the bookshelves, revealing a descending passageway.

"You're telling me your parents have a cave under their house?" Jason queried.

"It's my father's. He thinks Mom doesn't know, but you can't keep secrets from her."

They came out into a high-tech Batcave that contained an armoury and a hanger, along with a giant computer screen that contained a map of the world with the focus on Gotham City. Helena approached the computer, noticing the words 'Brother Eye' on the bottom corner, as there was a hiss and she turned towards the armoury, where a suit was being revealed to her.

"That looks nice," Jason commented.

The suit was black and made from quad-weave mesh, which was light as a feather, but tough as steel. It was the next thing down from intertrite and nearly just as good, though not as indestructible. The chest and shoulders were coloured midnight purple, with harness-like lines across the abdomen and upper that glowed purple under the lights. Midnight purple armour plates covered the forearms and legs, while the thigh holsters were attached to the multi-purpose belt. However, there were no armour plates attached to the torso and back, nor was there a mask and a cape. The white Huntress symbol was located on the chest, albeit a lot smaller, and was also placed on the back of the neck and on the upper arms.

"The suit's incomplete," Jason noted.

"True, but I have the necessary pieces at home," Helena said, "Dad told me that the idea of this suit was so I wouldn't rely on the intertrite suit. Keep me sharp. The heart attack kept him from finishing it, but I can do that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm getting changed."

"So, what about your training?" Jason asked once he turned his back and resisting the urge to peek, knowing she would shoot him, "You're nowhere near ready enough to face Prometheus. You need more time."

"Time is what we don't have," Helena said, "I have to face Prometheus. I _have_ to. I cannot put it off any longer. I may not be ready, but I'm more ready than I was before. Besides, I have a plan and it's going to involve you."

"How?" Jason questioned.

Helena walked past him, now fully dressed in her new suit and he bit back the urge to wolf-whistle at her, admiring how the suit clung tightly to her body and accentuate her curves. That was most likely not Bruce's intention, but it would make her light on her feet and damn did she look good in it. He was so busy checking her out that he didn't realise she was still talking to him until she suddenly snapped at him.

"Jason!"

"Huh, what?" Jason said, shaking his head, "How can I help?"

Helena rolled her eyes, "Men!"

She climbed into the jet and bought the engine to life, then gave Jason a look.

"You getting in or what?"

He hurried into the jet, as the hatch closed over the cockpit and Helena lifted the plane off the ground, folding up the legs, then turning it around and flying through the tunnel, blasting out into the sky outside, swiftly leaving Wayne Manor far behind.

"I recommend you call Arsenal and tell him to meet us in Gotham," Helena said, "The more people we have in this fight, the better chance we stand."

"Okay, but do we have to fly so fast?" Jason asked, "I'm not too good on planes, let alone jet fighters, which you're handling quite well, if I say so."

Helena wanted to tell him that she'd been flying planes since she was nineteen years old, but instead she smirked and increased their flight speed, much to Jason's displeasure and her amusement.

-X-


	19. Retaliation

Batman crouched on the rooftop, overseeing the group of TYGER Forces patrolling the streets. Ever since he learnt that TYGER had been given the order to hunt him and the others down, Batman had been sidestepping the patrol groups when possible, knowing he didn't have to fight every battle that cropped up in Arkham City. Red Robin and Batgirl were guarding the safe house, while the Birds of Prey were out scouting in Gotham City, searching for the bombs Prometheus threatened to detonate if any outside forces interfered. Terry knew the only way to stop this chaos was to apprehend Prometheus, but he didn't feel confident in facing him. Until someone suddenly appeared beside him.

"Miss me," the Huntress smirked.

"Helena!" Terry cried in surprise, "Hell of a time to pick a vacation. Where have you been?"

"Hong Kong. Have I missed anything exciting?"

"Prometheus has taken control of the TYGER Forces and has gotten them to hunt us. He basically owns Arkham City and we can't get to him," Batman replied.

"Well then, now that I have a way to attract his attention."

The Huntress jumped off the rooftop, her cape shifting into glider wings, tiny jets opening on the back and giving her that extra boost, until she dropped down in front of the TYGER group, startling them. Once they were over that surprise, they quickly aimed at her.

"Are you really that afraid of a girl you need guns?" the Huntress asked.

They slowly approached her, fanning out so they could surround her and she watched them with a cool smile. When one of the TYGER approached her, revealing a pair of cuffs, she struck, smacking the gun aside as her other fist smashed him in the jaw. Caught by surprise, the TYGER soldiers attempted to fight back and restrain the Huntress, but she moved through them with techniques she had practiced a thousand times, techniques that were virtually a part of her, allowing her to react on instinct and put down each man around her. When the last soldier went to raise his gun in an attempt to stop her, the Huntress batted the gun aside as it fired and she shoved him back, then drove her boot into his jaw, slamming his head against a brick wall. He fell like a sack of potatoes, unconscious like the rest of his patrol team and the Huntress smiled victoriously to herself.

"Nice performance," Batman said, appearing beside her, "So what next?"

Helena pointed to the night sky, where her symbol was glowing amongst the clouds.

"I hope that's going to catch his attention," she said, "Once I draw Prometheus out, I want you to go and shut down TYGER. You do have someone looking for those bombs, right?"

"Let me go with you. You could use my help against Prometheus," Batman said.

"I have help. And TYGER needs to be shut down. Can you do that for me?"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Helena."

Batman fired his grapple gun and disappeared amongst the rooftops. Letting out a slow sigh as she prepared herself for what to come, the Huntress made her way towards Arkham Asylum. She heard the low roar of a jet plane and looked up to see Red Hood dropping out from the bottom of the Batwing, using a cable to slow his descent until he landed beside her. Apart from his usual helmet and leather jacket, Jason was wearing one of Bruce Wayne's old Batman suits, given to him by Helena and he painted the bat symbol red to give it his own personal touch, his trademark weapons and ammunition around his waist.

"Think he'll see the message?" Jason asked.

"It's quite hard to miss," Helena replied, looking over her shoulder at the hint of sunrise on the ocean's horizon. She pressed a button on her belt and the Batwing's computer located a decent-sized rooftop with enough space for it to land, "I'm sure he's keeping an eye out for it."

The pair continued walking along the street, Arkham Asylum looming in the distance. Sure enough, the message had been noticed, as Prometheus approached them from the other end of the street, Damian's fighting sticks in his hands. Helena fought to control her heartbeat and maintain her calm control, the memory of her defeat fresh in her mind. This fight was important and she knew it was a matter of life or death.

"Quite a surprise to see you again, Huntress," Prometheus greeted, "And I see you've brought along a friend. It doesn't matter though. This time, I'm going to kill you."

"Yeah? How good is that armour of yours?" Red Hood asked, drawing his handguns.

He fired a few shots and the bullets bounced harmlessly off Prometheus' armour. The Huntress rolled her eyes at Jason's antics, then switched her focus back onto Prometheus. She tried to breathe evenly, focusing on everything she had learnt over the years, silently hoping they would be enough. She knew what was at stake and she wasn't going to let Prometheus win. The sight of her brother's weapons in Prometheus was enough to ignite the fire within her, but she reined it in, controlling her anger and clearing her mind.

"Are you both ready to die?" Prometheus asked.

"Are you?" the Huntress replied.

Her fist snapped out towards Prometheus' head. He blocked and struck her across the face with a fighting stick, then parried the Red Hood's fist, giving him the same treatment. Taking a step back, the Huntress quickly rehashed her battle plan, knowing she had to remove Prometheus' helmet. If it was indeed the source of his fighting prowess, then its removal could give her the edge she needed. Jumping back into the fight when the Red Hood was thrown aside, the Huntress struck Prometheus in the face, her next punch getting blocked. Prometheus whacked her across the face again and went to follow up with another blow, but his attack was halted by the Red Hood opening fire with his pistols. Standing out of the way, Huntress watched as Prometheus opened the lights on his shoulders and she fired an arrow from her gauntlet, destroying one of the lights. The impact of the arrow caused Prometheus to reel, as Red Hood focused his fire upon the other man's helmet, seeking to damage it. In response, Prometheus fired at Red Hood with his own bullets, breaking the line of fire, as the Huntress struck Prometheus from behind. As she caught him in the face with a vicious right hook, she called forth her brief training with Lady Shiva, trying to put it into practice, using her anger to guide her, each blow she landed a blow of retribution.

Prometheus parried her fist and struck her in the gut with a fighting stick, its twin slamming into her face and the Huntress spat blood as she staggered back, barely defending against Prometheus' vicious onslaught. Red Hood joined the fray, driving his fist against Prometheus' spine and received an elbow to his face, the distraction allowing Huntress a brief moment to recover. She needed a different tactic, one that would enable her to remove Prometheus' helmet and she stepped back to wait, as Red Hood defended himself against Prometheus' deadly attack. All she needed was the right opportunity.

-X-

"Operation Clean Zone is about to commence," Commander Crowley barked to his subordinates, "You know the drill, now move out into position."

The TYGER soldiers responded with a salute, splitting off into their own factions and leaving Arkham Asylum. Batman watched them go from the opposite building, having heard the term 'Operation Clean Zone' thanks to the bugs he had planted on several TYGER operatives following the skirmishes he undertook. Wanting to know more about Operation Clean Zone, Batman switched on the X-ray scanner in his mask, seeing the soldiers still roaming inside Arkham Asylum. Carefully plotting out a plan of attack, Batman waited until the coast was clear before walking straight through the asylum's front door. There was no one on the ground floor, as Batman ascended through the former asylum, swiftly taking down anyone he came across. Thankfully, the patrol groups only consisted of about two to three men, easy pickings for Batman, as he made sure to hide the bodies to avoid rousing suspicion. His communications device was tuned in to TYGER's radios and he kept an ear out, listening for any sounds of the alarm being raised. His target was Commander Crowley, who usually kept to the top floor, usually surrounded by several guards, but when Batman checked, he was surprised to see Commander Crowley alone in his office.

Moving up to the next floor, Batman trapped a TYGER in a sleeper hold, hoping the operative would fall unconscious before two fellow TYGER soldiers approached. The soldier fell into a dreamless sleep and Batman stepped out, firing discs from his gauntlets. They caught the two TYGERs by surprise and they were blinded by a smoke bomb, as Batman grabbed them both by the chins and slammed them to the ground, their heads bouncing off the tiled floor. The rest of the patrol groups fell and Batman approached Crowley's office, seeing the commander pace around. With a heaved sigh, Batman smashed the door off its hinges with a powerful kick, as Crowley whirled around and fired his powerful magnum revolver. The bullet slammed into Batman's chest, but although it didn't penetrate the suit, the force still knocked the breath out of him and he staggered back, trying to catch his breath.

"I don't think we've ever met, have we?" Crowley scrutinised him, "I know your friend, the Huntress. We go way back, me and her. You could say that I was one of the first major villains she put away."

"What are you talking about?" Batman demanded.

Crowley grinned and reached up to his jaw, appearing to pick at his skin, but Batman knew otherwise and he watched as Crowley removed the face of the man he'd been masquerading as.

"Do you recognise me now?" Basil Karlo grinned.

"But you're dead," Batman said, "Report was that you died in prison six years ago. Apparently killed in a fight. Story was that your killer was Jason Todd."

"It was all a cover-up. I was actually smuggled out of jail and trained to take over TYGER. So the truth is that the real Michael Crowley is actually dead. Long dead, in fact. Just like what you're going to be."

Another shot had Batman on his back, stars appearing before his eyes, as Karlo stood over him and levelled the revolver at his head.

"Let's see if your suit can deflect a bullet from this distance."

-X-


	20. The League of Shadows

Narrowly dodging a swipe at his head, Red Hood caught both fighting sticks in his hands and before his opponent could respond, tore them away. In retaliation, Prometheus slogged Red Hood in the face and he whipped out his knife, but Prometheus defended against the blade.

"Little help!" Red Hood shouted.

As if he'd forgotten about his main quarry, Prometheus whirled around; anticipating an attack, but it wasn't one he was quite expecting. The Huntress wrapped her hands around his helmet and tried to tear it off, as Red Hood sought to help by stabbing his knife into Prometheus' back. The blade snapped off and Prometheus fired a few blows into the Huntress' abdomen. She let go and Red Hood stepped on the back of Prometheus' knees, having his own turn. Prometheus grabbed his wrists and the Huntress punched Prometheus in the face, allowing Red Hood to remove the helmet.

"No!" Prometheus cried, reaching for it, but Huntress punched him again.

Red Hood slipped a small bomb inside the helmet and threw it away, the bomb blasting the helmet to pieces. Furious, Prometheus deflected the Huntress' fist and drove his knee into her stomach. She stepped back, gasping for air, as Red Hood unzipped his jacket sleeves and five square-shaped blades popped out the sides of his gauntlets in a fan-like manner and he moved for Prometheus, attacking with his deadly weapons. Prometheus ducked and weaved around the blades, showing that he was still a deadly opponent even without the use of his helmet and he struck Red Hood in the chest, the force throwing Jason back and Prometheus turned towards the Huntress, as she struck him in the face. However, when she went for a second punch, Prometheus caught her in an arm lock with a sinister smirk on his face. The lock didn't last long as Prometheus swung an arm out to block Red Hood's blades and the Huntress moved away from Prometheus, sharp blades popping along the edge of her gauntlets and she swung a fist at Prometheus, angling her arm at the last second. Prometheus hissed when a line of blood appeared on his cheek and Red Hood caught him on the chest with his blades, creating sparks. Meanwhile, as the trio fought, Deadshot crouched into position, sniper rifle in hand, as he slowly lined up the Huntress, ready to pull the trigger when the time was right. Unfortunately for him, a red arrow impaled the rifle, as a second padded arrow slammed into Deadshot's temple before he could react. Arsenal looked down at the fight taking place, deciding that Red Hood and Huntress could handle Prometheus together and headed his own way.

Prometheus snapped out his wrist guns and went to fire, but Red Hood was quicker, easily slicing through the pistols, a follow-through roundhouse kick connecting with Prometheus' temple. He hit the ground and went to get up, as the Huntress struck him across the face with her quarterstaff. He staggered and blocked the next blow, then pushed away to avoid Red Hood's blades, as the Huntress fired an arrow from her gauntlet. It bounced off Prometheus' armour, but the tiny distraction allowed her to crack him in the face and she followed up with a powerful kick that dropped Prometheus onto his back. He rolled over to avoid Red Hood's blades, but the Huntress stood on his back, holding the end of her quarterstaff against the nape of his neck.

"You move even an inch and I'll paralyse you," she warned, "It's over, Prometheus. You lose and you have a lot to answer for. I imagine you'll be spending the rest of your life in prison."

"Huntress! What is that?" Red Hood asked.

Reluctantly, the Huntress looked over her shoulder, followed Red Hood's finger pointed at the sky and she saw the numerous VTOL jet fighters flying towards Gotham City.

-X-

"Sir, we've got something on the radar near Gotham City," the US soldier announced, "Satellite images confirm that it is the _Ursa Major_ aircraft carrier that went missing three weeks ago."

The general peered at the images flooding in from the satellite, showing a fleet of Phoenix VTOLs launching off from the _Ursa Major_ and flying towards Gotham City.

"Do we have anyone in the area who could secure the ship?" the general questioned.

"I could get Captain Carroll from Metropolis. I'll send the order through."

"What is going on there?" the general wondered to himself.

-X-

Basil Karlo fell to the ground, his body aching from the blows he had received, while Batman was standing triumphant over him. Although Karlo had the upper hand before, Batman retaliated and the pair entered a quick skirmish in which Batman had the upper hand, besting Karlo in the short fight. However, despite being beaten, Karlo wasn't going to accept his defeat so easily and withdrew a small detonator from his pocket.

"You think you can just beat me and walk away?" Karlo panted heavily, "You are not going to win, Batman. I won't allow it!"

He pressed the button and an explosion erupted somewhere on the bottom floor. The foundations were blasted apart, as Batman grabbed Karlo and ran towards the nearest window. Karlo had other ideas and dug his heels in, attempting to stall Batman so he would be caught in the explosion. Arkham Asylum began to crumble, as a second explosion tore through the building and Batman broke out of Karlo's hold, throwing himself through the window as the former asylum was consumed within a ball of flames. Landing on the road, Batman sighed as he retracted the glider wings, disappointed in himself for Karlo's death.

_"Why does everyone try to kill me with bombs?"_

The sun was rising on the horizon, illuminating Arkham City with golden rays of light, but that wasn't what captured Batman's attention. The sky was littered with VTOL jet fighters and helicopters soaring over Arkham City and that's when the first missile was fired. A building exploded in a shower of mortar and fire, destruction being rained down upon the super-prison. Batman sought cover, hearing gunfire coming from nearby and he grappled to a rooftop, overlooking a TYGER patrol group massacring several criminals. Without regard for his safety, Batman flew in to intercept, dropping amongst the TYGER operatives and commencing a fight, as the prison around them was razed to the ground.

-X-

Cassandra stood on the deck of the _Ursa Major_, hidden in the shadows as she waited for her opportunity to get to Gotham. Following the confrontation with her father, Cassandra fled from the League of Shadows temple and arrived at the docks, just ahead of the League, where they boarded the stolen _Ursa Major_ and set off for Gotham City. Having snuck aboard, Cassandra did her best to remain hidden in the shadows, stealing food whenever she could and tried to figure out her father's plan for her adopted home. She did contemplate trying to overthrow the League and seize the ship, but she knew it was pointless because she was no match for her father and she had no idea how to pilot an aircraft carrier.

Now she was back in her home city, watching as the League take off in aircrafts to attack the city and when the opportunity presented itself, Cassandra raced for the nearest helicopter, grabbing onto its leg as the aircraft took off from the runway. She clung on tightly, slowly manoeuvring herself along the leg, as an assassin appeared in the open hatch. Thinking quickly, Cassandra grabbed his ankle and pulled, making sure that he grabbed onto the leg instead of falling to his death and she swung herself inside the helicopter. An assassin went for her, but Cassandra kicked him in the stomach, then got to her feet and slugged him in the face. The assassin tried to punch her, but she countered and slung him against the wall, her fist knocking him out cold and she turned towards the pilot.

"Lower this at once," Cassandra demanded.

"Or you'll do what?" the pilot sneered.

"I will throw you out and pilot it myself. The choice is yours."

The pilot steered the helicopter towards the ground, as the first assassin climbed back inside. Noticing him, Cassandra didn't give him a chance to attack, launching into an assault first. During the fight, she slung him around, about to deliver a blow when a gunshot rang out, hitting the wrong target. As the dead assassin dropped, Cassandra batted the gun from the pilot's hand, then elbowed him in the chest and he lost his breath, the helicopter veering dangerously towards the ground. The pilot didn't bother to correct the aircraft's trajectory and as they neared the ground, Cassandra threw herself from the helicopter. She rolled several times along the road, busting her lip open, her body sore from the fall. The helicopter suffered an unlucky fate, slamming into the road and erupting into a great fireball, as Cassandra painfully got to her feet. She needed to stop this madness and hurried off towards home so she could assist against her father's plans.

-X-

"What's going on?" Huntress demanded of Prometheus with a punch, "Tell me!"

"We've got to get out of here!" Red Hood shouted as missiles soared overhead and buildings crumbled around them, screams echoing in the distance.

"This is not my doing," Prometheus responded, "I am a person of the criminal element. Why would I want to destroy them? Yes, I stole the ship, but for my own plans."

"Guess your plans have been thrown out the window? Who ordered this? Do you know?"

"Helena!"

Red Hood grabbed the Huntress and pulled her away, as a missile slammed into the road and exploded nearby. The pair were hurled through the air, Jason trying to protect Helena with her body and when they landed, Helena looked up, her face cut open from the blast, but she could consider herself lucky. Prometheus lay nearby, his dead eyes open to the sky due to the piece of shrapnel impaling his face. The Huntress painfully got up, aided by the Red Hood, both bruised and lacerated, watching as the League of Shadows flew overhead and proceeded to raze Arkham City to the ground.

"This is madness," the Huntress said, "We've got to figure out how to end this."

"Uh, I think we have a bigger problem," Red Hood said.

The Huntress whirled around and looked to the sky. A large missile had been launched from the _Ursa Major_ and was now descending towards Arkham City. Based on the size of the missile, Helena knew that it packed quite a punch and if it struck, it would obliterate Arkham City and leave nothing but rubble behind. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do but watch as the missile dropped closer and closer with each alarming second.

"Any last words?" Red Hood asked.

"Yeah. Wonder Woman."

"Huh?"

There was a blur of red and dark blue, the missile being turned away from Arkham City, before being hurled towards the atmosphere. There was a bright flare from the missile exploding in outer space and Wonder Woman descended towards the pair with a smile.

"Looks like I got here in the nick of time."

-X-


	21. Tying Up Loose Ends

"What the hell is going on?" Red Robin cried, hearing the explosions in the distance.

The air was thick with the roar of jets as the Phoenix VTOLs shot overhead, buildings exploding in their wake, while helicopters hovered about, allowing the League to shoot down criminals as they fled for their lives.

"We can't stay here, we have to do something," Batgirl suggested.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Find the person responsible and get them to stop. It's worth a try."

"Alright. I'll call in the Birds of Prey. We could use their help."

-X-

"Wonder Woman," Jason said appreciatively, "Hello."

Like Helena, Lara had cut her blonde hair short to chin length and completely changed her wardrobe. While she still wore the red bodice that was a signature of Wonder Woman, it now featured gold accents, while her tiara and choker were also gold. She had exchanged her silver gauntlets for red hand/forearm sleeves and gold bracers and she now wore a pair of navy blue pants, a jacket and a pair of boots with gold spherical accents on the ankles. A short sword was strapped to her left thigh, while her trademark whip was on her right hip.

"So, it looks like you need some assistance," Wonder Woman said to the Huntress, ignoring Jason, "That is if you don't mind?"

"It'd be a welcome relief," Helena said, "Think you can take down the jets?"

Wonder Woman smirked, "Gladly."

She shot into the sky and went straight after the nearest Phoenix, removing the pilot and hurling the VTOL away like it was a paper plane. Realising the massive threat they were now facing, the League of Shadows converged on Wonder Woman. She flew away from the fleet, weaving around the buildings and shredded a Phoenix with her heat vision.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Red Hood asked.

"You help the inmates," Huntress replied, "Get them to safety."

"You're kidding me, right? We're _helping_ criminals now?" Jason sneered.

"They do not deserve to be massacred like this. You want to discuss ethics; we can talk about it when we're not about to blown to pieces."

"Fine, whatever," Jason huffed, but he left to do as he was told regardless.

Once he was gone, Helena tried to figure out how she was going to find the person responsible and decided some interrogation was in order. Calling down Wonder Woman, Huntress was then airlifted to a helicopter, where she forced the pilot to land, then threw him out onto the rooftop, crossbow in hand.

"Who is in command?" the Huntress demanded.

"Our leader, David Cain," the pilot replied, "But you can't stop him. Operation Clean Zone has been in the works for years. We've planned it right from the start, when the election campaign started. We rigged the polls and got Sharp elected. This is what's meant to happen. You cannot stop the League of Shadows."

"Really? Tell me where I can find Cain and we'll see who comes out on top."

The pilot sneered at her and in response; Huntress pressed the tip of her arrow against his throat.

"Where is he?!"

-X-

Cassandra hauled herself over the Arkham City wall, dropping down into the prison. Now dressed in her Black Bat costume and outfitted with weapons, she sought to put an end to the League of Shadows' plan. Grappling to the top of a building yet to be destroyed, Cassandra surveyed the destruction of Arkham City, fear gripping her when she saw a large missile soaring through the air. During her cautious patrols of _Ursa Major_, Cassandra had come across the mighty missile housed within the massive ship and she had no doubts that her father had plans for it, cue now. Thankfully, that fear changed to relief when Wonder Woman appeared out of nowhere to deflect the missile, then proceed to play tag with the League, blasting their VTOLs and helicopters out of the sky with her heat vision.

A VTOL flew overhead and Cassandra watched as it turned around, then slowly approached until it was hovering in front of her. Even though she couldn't see inside, she had a feeling she knew who was piloting the aircraft, confirmed when a voice rang out.

"Funny seeing you again, daughter," Cain said, "I'm pretty sure I left you out in the ice to die, but somehow, you found a way onto the ship and back to Gotham. I assure you, your adopted home shall be your grave."

In the split second before Cain opened fire, Cassandra was sprinting for the edge and leapt to the road below, using her cape to slow her descent. Cain flew overhead and turned around, then fired a missile. Cassandra was already clear of the blast zone, although she was thrown by the shockwave and she hit the road hard, looking up to see her father's VTOL hovering before her. She knew that if he shot at her, she was dead. No doubt her father was grinning in victory and Cassandra closed her eyes, bracing herself for the barrage of bullets. There was a sudden explosion instead of gunfire and Cassandra opened her eyes, before scrambling to her feet and running for cover when her father's VTOL came crashing down. The wing had been severed thanks to Wonder Woman, who then stopped another Phoenix with her bare hands and hurled it aside. Having found cover from the crashing aircraft, Cassandra stepped out and carefully approached the burning wreck, searching for any sign of her father. There was a sound of creaking steel and an enraged David Cain came barrelling out of the wreckage, slicing with his short sword. Cassandra barely avoided the blade in time, as his boot then slammed into her stomach and knocked the wind out of her. The blade came down and Cassandra rolled away onto her feet, as Cain sliced at her again. She deflected with her gauntlets and his knuckles smacked her across the face.

The blow staggered her and Black Bat fired her grapple gun, rappelling to a rooftop. It gave her time to think and recover. The last time she had fought her father, she had been on the brink of unconsciousness due to sheer exhaustion. This time, things were on a more even playing field, as Cassandra tried to focus on what she had to face. She knew it was going to be a fight to the death, with her father looking to kill.

Peering over the edge, Black Bat couldn't see her father anywhere and turned away, narrowly dodging the sword aimed at her face. She darted around Cain, her gauntlet deflecting his blade. Cain swiped at his daughter's throat and just missed her, as she then threw a batarang at him. Cain blocked the projectile, as Black Bat swung her fist into his abdomen. His elbow crashed into her jaw and she took a step back, then dodged the sword and struck again. with rage and adrenaline fuelling him, Cain parried Black Bat's fist and sliced his sword across her stomach. The intertrite protected her from being sliced open, as Cain slammed the hilt of his sword against her spine, annoyed that he couldn't kill her because of her suit. He stood over her, deciding to stab her in the head, when he was struck from behind and sent flying over Black Bat. Cassandra looked up to see the Huntress, glider wings falling back into a cape.

"I suggest you stay away from my sister," the Huntress said, helping Black Bat up.

"Yes, I know all about you, Helena Wayne," Cain said, "Daughter of Bruce Wayne, the traitor to the League. I kill you, I will restore the League's honour your father stole from us!"

"Multiple times, if I'm not mistake."

Cain swung his sword and the Huntress blocked with her gauntlet. She batted the blade aside and struck Cain across the jaw with her knuckles. She threw another punch, but Cain dodged and elbowed her in the face, then drove his fist into her stomach. She blocked the overhead strike and slammed her boot against Cain's body. The sword sliced past her face, but his elbow was driven into her instead and Cain landed an uppercut after another parry. The Huntress went for a backfist, but Cain blocked and sliced her hip, drawing blood. Black Bat came in between and trapped her father's sword between her gauntlet blades and with a swift wrench; she snapped the blade in half. Cain responded swiftly, his fist driving into Black Bat's jaw and he parried the Huntress' punch, his elbow put to good use. Black Bat slammed a kick into her father's torso and the Huntress mimicked the action with a kick to Cain's chest. Realising that he was outmatched, Cain avoided the Huntress' fist, using her own momentum against her and threw her to the ground after he struck her on the jaw with his knee, then turned and received a blow from his daughter. Black Bat pressed her attack, only stopped when her father parried and he pulled her off-balance, driving a chop onto the back of her head. Cassandra landed near the edge and when Cain went to kick her while she was down, she rolled out of the way and struck his ankle. The blow dropped Cain and he fell off the edge of the building. Cassandra lunged and grabbed Cain by the wrist, but she couldn't stop herself from going over the edge with him. Thankfully, Helena arrived in time and grabbed her sister by the ankle, while firing her grapple gun at the rooftop to hold them in place. Cassandra held Cain with both hands, as Huntress reversed the gun, slowly pulling them back to safety. However, Cain knew what awaited him if he joined the girls on the roof and he refused to be sent to jail. Instead, he drew a small dagger and stabbed at Cassandra's hands. While the blade couldn't pierce through her suit, the action caused her to react on reflex and she let go, before realising what she done. Cain grinned as he plummeted towards the road and slammed into the bitumen, the impact killing him instantly. Cassandra stared horrified at her father's body and was pulled into Helena's embrace once she was back on the roof, as Helena looked down at Cain's body.

"I tried to save him," Cassandra said softly, "Even after what he did to me, I tried to save him."

"It just proves that you're not a killer, Cass," Helena said, "You're a hero and you're an important part of this family. Never forget that."

Cassandra didn't say anything. There was no need to. She simply accepted her sister's words.

-X-


	22. The Next Step

AN: This is the final chapter and so I would like to thank you everyone who read, reviewed, favourite and/or alerted not just this story, but across the entire series. It has been fun writing about Helena and her exploits, but it has to come to an end. A short chapter, just to wrap things up a little.

-X-

Arkham City virtually resembled a war zone. Buildings were destroyed and bodies littered the streets. The League had been taken care of, thanks to Wonder Woman destroying their aircraft and securing the _Ursa Major_, which meant the military had no problem taking back their property, as well as rounding up the League, TYGER and Arkham City inmates. The bombs that Prometheus planted around the city were disarmed thanks to the Birds of Prey, making Gotham City safe once more. The threat was over, but the clean-up had just begun. After being told by Stephanie that Damian had finally woken up from his coma, Helena rushed home to change out of her Huntress suit, then proceeded to the hospital, relief coming over her when she found her brother watching TV and the feeling was mutual.

"Helena!" Damian cried out with his trademark smile, "You look good for a ghost."

"Considering how close you were to death, I think the term applies better to you," Helena grinned, sitting on the edge of the bed, "How are you doing?"

Damian shrugged, "Better. I can sit up and do some things by myself, but it'll take some time before I'm completely independent again."

"Aw, little baby Damian."

"Shut up. So, what happened to you?"

Helena's demeanour turned serious, "Hong Kong, then home. Dad had a heart attack. He's fine, don't worry too much," Helena interrupted when Damian made a startled movement, "As fine as someone who's add a heart attack. Seriously, he'll be fine. This is Dad. He's had worse."

"Yeah, you're right. So, it's all over? Prometheus has been beaten?"

"Him and the League of Shadows. They were behind the attack on Arkham City. Good thing Lara got here in time. And I suppose Jason as well."

"Jason? You mean Jason Todd?" Damian questioned, "He helped?"

"Yeah, he did. So, um, hey, I've got you something."

She held out a paper bag and Damian opened it, a look of surprise coming over him when he drew his fighting sticks out of the bag, his signature weapons now returned to their rightful owner.

"Thought you might want them back. Take good care of them."

"Thank you, Helena."

She smiled at her brother, as the door opened and Cassandra entered the room. Damian smiled at his adopted sister, who returned the smile and sat opposite Helena.

"You're back," Damian said, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did, but I wish I didn't," Cassandra said softly, "At least I know now where my place is and that is here with you. You two are my family. I'm thankful for you both and what your parents have done for me."

"Yeah, well, hey, you're our little sister," Helena said, "Family look out for each other."

-X-

Jason stood on the roof of Old Wayne Tower, overlooking the city, his focus on the decommissioned super-prison. There was a slight disturbance in the air, but Jason didn't turn around, already knowing who had just joined him.

"Nice view, isn't it?" Helena asked.

She was wearing her new Huntress suit and had flown to the rooftop, standing beside Jason, as they both looked out towards Arkham City.

"I suppose you're here to thank me?" Jason questioned.

"For not killing anyone. I understand it would have been difficult for you, but you managed. Perhaps there is some hope for you yet, Jason," Helena said, "I'm willing to give a chance to you as long as you stay on this road. Slip off it and I'll be there."

"I appreciate the thought, Hel. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe Roy and I are going back to Hong Kong to finish what we started. I'm sure you'll be fine here."

He jumped off Old Wayne Tower, using a grapple gun to slow his descent towards the ground, as Helena rolled her eyes and looked at the night sky. She was reflecting on the past few weeks when she sensed something nearby and Wonder Woman joined her.

"You're letting him go?" Lara questioned.

"He's on the path to redemption, even if he doesn't realise it himself," Helena replied, "I'm giving him a chance, Lara and I'm hoping I don't regret it."

"Very well then. So, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Liar. I know you, Hel. You can't lie to me same as I can't lie to you."

"As much as you would love to sometimes," Helena smirked, then caught the look in Lara's eyes and sighed, "Look, I had been considering giving up being the Huntress. Arkham City was taking care of the crooks and I'm not exactly getting young either. There's a new generation of crime-fighters just waiting to come out and take my place. But then this thing with Prometheus and the League happened and you know what I realised? It's not my time just yet. I still have plenty to give. I'm not ready to retire."

"Good, because I would hate to have to find your replacement for the JL," Lara said, "But on a more serious note, I'm glad you're not retiring, Helena. Who else can I talk to in the Watchtower when the boys are being idiots?"

Helena smiled at that, "I appreciate it, Lara. Really. So, what do you say we do what we do best and round up some bad guys? There were quite a few who escaped Arkham City."

"I thought you'd never ask. Need a lift?"

"No. I'm good."

Wonder Woman rose up and shot off through the sky, as the Huntress leapt off the tower and engaged the glider wings and jet, flying after her friend. This was what she was born for. This was her purpose in life and Helena knew she wasn't going to give it up any time soon. Not while she could help it.

-X-

"Cassandra?"

The girl in question turned away from computer to see Stephanie approaching her. However, Cassandra's eyes were drawn to the object in Stephanie's hands.

"Why are you holding your suit?"

"Because I'm giving it to you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm retiring, Cass, and I'm passing the mantle on to you," Stephanie explained, "I've done my time and now it's your turn. As much as I love fighting crime and helping the innocent, I do want to settle down, get married and raise a family. I believe you've earned the right."

She held out her suit and Cassandra hesitantly reached for it, unable to believe what was happening and she thought it was a dream, until the suit was in her hands and Cassandra knew that it wasn't a dream. This was real. She was now Batgirl.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine as Batgirl," Stephanie said, "You'll do me proud."

"I…I don't know what to say," Cassandra said, "I don't think thank you is enough."

"It is for me. I wish you all the best."

-X-

Moira Queen arrived home at her apartment in Star City. Sure, she was a heiress with literally millions at her fingertips, but she preferred to work for her money. Right now, she was seriously contemplating using those millions to go on a well-earned vacation in the Bahamas. It had been a rough week with the constant fighting in Arkham City and she was just glad to be finally home for some rest.

If the person sitting at her table hadn't gotten her attention yet.

Moira went into defensive mode and even thought about using her Canary Cry, but the stranger held up a hand.

"No need to be alarmed, Ms. Queen. I'm just here to talk," said the authoritative voice.

"Yeah? What about? Who are you?" Moira demanded.

"My name is Steven Carroll and I am a captain in the US Army," the stranger replied, "I also have connections to other factions, ones most people don't know about and one of them has an offer for you, Ms. Queen."

"Like what?"

"Are you interested in joining the Justice League of America?"

-X-

AN: And that's it. Okay, so it's not completely wrapped up, but it is for me. Just like how _The Dark Knight Rises_ had an open ending, I will do the same here. Farewell all and thanks for sticking with me along the entire ride.


End file.
